


The Goddess Type

by diecosmonaut



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Abuse, Dark, Dissociation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, F/M, Heavy Angst, Manic Psychotic Dream Girl, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Platonic Relationships, Psychological Trauma, Romance, Sex, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-03-05 14:52:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 37,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18830899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diecosmonaut/pseuds/diecosmonaut
Summary: A student named Aphrodite enters Ouran and she is half Greek and half Japanese/Korean. All hell breaks loose when she accidentally stumbles upon the club, searching for her senior and was dragged by the Hiitachin twins to pick a rose.What colour will it be? What will happen afterwards?And just like the myth, Aphrodite herself had major dating experiences before. Yet there is a saying, the goddess of love never actually loves. Her involvement with the host club might shine a light as she slowly rediscovers the true meaning of love and eventually fall apart.





	1. Prologue

"Senpai! You're here!" A girl with bright eyes in the shade of magenta spoke. She barged in the music room without considering to greet anyone else. The Hiitachin twins instantly noticed her presence and smirked. A new cute girl for them to play around with. The prince of the host club, Suoh Tamaki was busy entertaining his usual guests, same goes to the other members.

In reality, the new girl was searching for her beloved senpai, who's also Hani and Mori's classmate, Athena. She had short brown hair and golden orbs to make of her eyes. The senpai was sitting with Hani, enjoying the service she was given in a classic tea time arrangement. Mori was standing behind Hani to watch over him as usual.

"Ah Aphe, sorry I didn't tell you, I've been visiting the host club as of late." Athena confessed, smiling apologetically.

The younger girl pouted for a while before sighing. "Fine. But I had to go through the trouble of asking your classmates about your whereabouts. I just want to pass you the book I borrowed before."

"Isn't that the greek girl from 2-A? What is she doing in the host club?" One of the Hiitachin's customers spoke. Hikaru look at Kaoru and smirked.

"Hello there princess, it seems that you are interested to be enamored by us." They instantly appeared behind Aphe, smirking while touching her shoulders. Aphe looked at them and removed their hands.

"I'm just here because of my senpai."

"Aphe! Omg! We've been trying to convince you to come to the host club and finally you gave in!" Tamaki's loyal customers, Chise and Arisa spoke. They are students from class 2-B who are best friends with Aphe.

"I KNEW you guys would be here after class. But no actually I was searching for Athena."

The twins pondered for a while before asking. "Nevermind that, what's your name, princess?"

"Me? I'm Aphrodite. Call me Aphe."

"Omg Aphe! You visited my host club! What an honour to have you here!" Tamaki cheered from afar. He walked to them and talked to the twins. "Aphe is mine and Kyouya's classmate by the way."

"Ah, a senpai." Hikaru and Kaoru muttered.

"It's fine just drop the honorifics. Call me Aphe." She told the twins. "Also hey there Tamaki, I'm here because I need to see my senpai who is a customer of Hani."

"That's right uwu I love Athena-chan, she's so nice and lovely! She loves playing with bunbun too!" Hani commented while eating a cake. Athena chuckled.

Kyouya stood still in silence, scribbling in his notebook while stealing a glance here and there. He was particularly staring at the newcomer, definitely a classmate of his whom he rarely spoke to. She doesn't seem to be interested in talking to boys even in her own class. Boys and girls in the school talked about her beauty, revered the fact that she comes from a privileged family and also the fact that she dates girls. She had two ex girlfriends, one is in class 2-C and another is a junior. Other than that, she belongs to the dance club in school.

"Say Aphe-san, would you like to play a game with us? Since you're not interested in getting pampered." The twins challenged.

Aphe cocked an eyebrow. "A game? Sounds interesting."

"Yes. At this table we've prepared 7 roses, each of them represents each of the hosts, but as you can see it's hidden in a box. Pick one and that shall be your designated host if ever you're interested." They suggested in mischief.

"Well, since I'm here guess I'll choose one."

Aphe looked at the boxes, they were opaque and there were no distinguishing signs on top of them, everything seems vague. She took a minute to decide and finally picked the one on the top left.

"Open it." The twins urged.

The newcomer opened the box and it revealed a beautiful lavender rose. Aphe held it in her hands and inspected the hue.

"Magnificent colour, very majestic. I don't think I've ever seen a lavender rose before." She spoke nonchalantly. Beside her Tamaki was laughing his ass off.

"Ah, you chose Kyouya-senpai." The twins grinned.

Aphe looked at them and gasped. "Kyouya? Ootori Kyouya? Isn't that a student from my class?"

"Correct, your highness." Tamaki regained his composure and held her hand. "Let me escort you to your host."

She retracted her hand and crossed her arms. "I was playing a game with the twins, Tamaki. I don't think I want to be pampered."

It was then she felt a tug on her shoulders. "Doesn't hurt to try, isn't it?" Athena urged with a sly smile. Aphe looked at her questioningly before continued, "Are you sure about this, senpai?"

"I know. I just want to see that's all." The brown haired senior urged. Aphe contemplated for a while.

Kyouya who was listening intently the whole time, finally spoke. "Sounds like I've been summoned. Hello there, classmate. A bit of a surprise to see you here."

The magenta eyed girl shrugged. "I don't have any business here, was playing a game and...." She noticed she was still holding the lavender rose. "I picked this, is this yours?"

"That's me." He put down his notebook and showed her to her designated seat. "Have a seat, Aphrodite."

Aphe looked at Athena and grimaced. "You are an accomplice." The brown haired girl giggled.

The raven haired boy sat across the newcomer and crossed his legs. "I suppose I don't need to introduce myself. Your family has dealt with mine a couple of times as a matter of fact."

Aphe stared blankly and studied the host in front of her. The Ootori boy had extremely pale skin, a stark contrast to his jet black hair and a pair of sublime, almost breathtaking grey eyes. His facial features were sharp yet a tad bit feminine aside from his build and 5'11 height. She overheard Tamaki saying that Kyouya is the Shadow King of the club, whatever that means. She felt nothing, Ootori Kyouya is her own classmate after all. Naturally she isn't interested in family businesses.

"Really? I can't remember. Also, do you mind enlightening me about your appeal?" She questioned, while sipping the tea that was served. "Women here go crazy after you and Tamaki. It's either that and the third is me, in another department that is."

"Good question. I'm the cool type, as you can see. Aside from that," Kyouya smiled provocatively and leaned closer to her, whispering in his deep raspy voice.

"You're very alluring, fitting for your name."

He looked at her eye to eye.

"Kyaa!!! Kyouya-sama is doing his host duties!!" There were screams from fangirls who noticed the two. Aphe sat still and froze in her seat, holding the teacup in her hands, trying to process the foreign situation at hand.

It was definitely something very unusual for someone who's been to a girls school all her life.

"So is this the reason why girls come here? To be enamored by sweet nothings?" She coldly whispered at the boy who was gradually closing the distance between her. "And you're saying this because this is your job isn't it, Ootori-kun? You are paid for this."

He smirked. "Partially right. I'll let you in on a little secret."

The black haired girl blinked before he whispered in her ear, "I know everything about you, down to the smallest details. I watched all your dance videos, I have all your photos and family history archived. I think you have a lot of potential."

Aphe's eyes widened, even though she kept her composure. "It has never struck to me you'd say that, Ootori. You always seem disinterested in women. I assumed you don't belong in that department, which is fine."

"You can say that I swing both ways." He placed one finger below her chin. "Well, right now I only have eyes for one girl and she's right in front of me."

Tamaki's jaw dropped, even though he can barely hear their conversation. It's been a while since Kyouya had performed his host duties. He was almost unable to comprehend if his best friend is acting or not. Haruhi had a light blush on her face. The twins were sneering in excitement. Athena carefully studied the situation and took mental notes of the shadow king.

The greek goddess of love backed away and stood up. "I guess that's enough for today's hosting service. I must say you did put up a good act there, Ootori Kyouya. Have fun entertaining the ladies. See you in class." She smiled and left the club immediately with Athena.

Kyouya smirked for one second and got up from the couch. His blonde best friend commented, "It seems you still retain your host abilities, Kyouya."

"What can I say, I'm part of the host club. But the only difference is I pick my customers, which I haven't done for a long time." The bespectacled boy replied, writing in his Death Note. Tamaki agreed.

"This is because of the benefits, I reckon? Typical mommy."

"You will see, daddy."

Aphrodite Ash, the girl who unknowingly picked a lavender rose, is about to go through an experience of a lifetime.


	2. Introduction to Ouran

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day in ouran, time for a flashback.

"I guess this is it. New school."

Aphrodite sighed as she packed her school bag and left her own master bedroom. She walked through the vast hallways and noticed a cute meow coming from a corner. It was her cat Mochi, a grey and white mixed turkish angora. The name is based on her favourite japanese dessert, in which she was discouraged from consuming them too much by her mother. Her measurements had to be maintained a certain way according to her.

The purple haired girl's eyebrows arched upwards as she smiled upon seeing the beloved feline; her eyes forming two adorable shape of an inverted crescent. People around her would call it an eye-smile, and it was one of her known charms. She ruffled the cat's fur as it purred against her touch.

The hallways of the minimalist designed mansion felt vast and endless. Aphrodite was greeted by her trusted butler, Ace, she did the same and ate her breakfast afterwards. At the other end of the table, there lies Dr Alex, her guardian who will take care of her while she resides in Japan. Once in a while her parents would come visit her as they would check her progress in academics and extra curricular activities. But as of now, she ought to face the first semester of school mostly without them. Born in a family of reputable scientists, it was known that her parents are the head in multiple research events and conferences.

"Best of luck for your first day of high school, my dear." Dr Alex, a tall 33 years old man who had platinum white hair and grey eyes, smiled at his foster daughter. He sent her off that day.

"Thank you Dr! I'll do my best!" Aphe waved happily at her guardian as the windows of her white limo closed shut.

"This is her first time going to a co-ed school, isn't it? I hope she's going to be okay." The head maid sighed and frowned. Dr Alex chuckled.

"Nothing to worry about, Jang Yuri. Ouran Academy is one of the best elite schools in town. I'm sure she'll be happy there." He reassured the Korean maid.

Aphrodite had previously took the aptitude test in Ouran during a trip to Japan, but due to several issues her intake was one week late compared to other students. The test had determined which class she had to be in and she aced the test, scoring a 100 in 3 subjects as expected from a family of scientists.

"Hello everyone, as you might have noticed today we shall be having a new transfer student from Greece. But rest assured she is fluent in Japanese, Korean and English due to her family lineage." The homeroom teacher spoke, tapping her hands together in excitement.

The girls and boys were whispering to each other, wondering who could it be. A certain blonde haired student turned to his best friend and whispered, "Do you know anything about the transfer student, Kyouya?"

"A girl. She is half greek and half japanese-korean due to the mother. Comes from a family of reputable scientists which had business transactions with the Ootori group." The bespectacled boy adjusted his glasses and crossed his arms. Tamaki nodded in agreement.

"Alright you can step in and introduce yourself." The teacher called.

Aphrodite closed her eyes for one second and entered the elite classroom of 18 seats. All eyes were immediately fixed on her. The girl is 5'7 tall with fair skin and her features include a small face, neat body proportions, leaning more to slim with lesser curves and small chest. She had tiny braids on both sides of her wavy hair, which ended only a few inches past her shoulders. Her soft bangs parted in the middle and there were some strands of hair covering the sides of her face.

"Hello everyone, my name is Aphrodite A. Nice to meet you. Please call me Aphe for short." Aphe spoke and bowed slightly.

"I am trained to speak in Japanese, Korean and English besides my mother-tongue, feel free to communicate with me in any of them." She waved and did her eye smile, slightly grinning, showing a bit of her lower teeth retainers. Her magenta eyes shone like glass as she scanned through the class for an empty seat. There were two, one beside the class president Ootori Kyouya and another one is situated beside the vice president Jounouchi Ayame. But at this point she has no idea who they are.

The boys were looking at each other, sending telepathic messages about wanting her to sit at the boys isle at Kyouya's, meanwhile the ladies were ogling at her appearance, height and her given name. The greek goddess of love and beauty, a goddess that has been revered by more women than men.

"You can pick any of the two empty seats, Aphrodite. Ootori Kyouya-kun here is our intelligent and charming class president." The teacher smiled and pointed at the raven haired boy.

"I am honoured." Kyouya smiled at the teacher's remarks.

"There's no way she wouldn't want to sit beside you." Tamaki nudged him.

"We'll see about that. I already know the answer." Kyouya replied nonchalantly.

"He can assist you and show you around. Also, you can sit beside him too, if you're interested." The teacher continued. "There's also another seat beside Jounouchi Ayame, our beautiful and witty vice president." Ayame blushed slightly at the compliment.

Aphrodite smiled and bowed to the teacher. "I am grateful for the introductions, I shall remember the names. I think I'll take a seat now."

She walked past the boys isle, barely even looking at them and sat beside Ayame. Some of the girls in class were thankful and spared from unnecessary jealousy. None of them dared to take a seat beside the famous Ootori son, for fear they would fall hook line and sinker and unable to focus on studies.

The bespectacled girl gasped bashfully as Aphe took her hand and made another eye smile.

"Hope we can be friends, Jounouchi-san. Nice to meet you."

"N-nice to meet you too and of course! You can ask me about anything." Ayame stuttered a little.

"What's wrong? Did I said something bad?"

"No, not really. I was thinking you would prefer sitting beside Ootori. He is the class president after all." Ayame commented. "But it's fine either way! Forget about it!"

"Awesome!" Aphe grinned, completely ignoring the previous statement. She took out her text book and utensils.

The boys at the side sighed in defeat. Tamaki looked at his best friend and gasped. "So I was wrong, huh...."

"Her preference is based on familiarity, as expected." Kyouya rested his chin on his hand and calmly flipped open his notebook. The Ootori boy saw how the new student took Ayame's hand and charmed her unknowingly; it reminded him of a certain blonde back in middle school.

"She seems familiar, I think I've seen some of her contemporary dance videos with her friends on youtube." One of the boys spoke to his friend. He agreed.

"Not a lot of content but I recognize her from there too. She has piano and violin recitals." The girls echoed.  
  
  


* * *

  
  


Ayame brought the new student around the school shortly after. Aphe marveled at the prestigious European architecture the school seems to offer and took mental notes of the extra curricular activities, which were a lot more diverse than a regular high school.

"I think the dance studio here is better than my previous school. I am fairly interested in that. Also I do play music, I suppose there are music rooms here which we might have passed by?"

"We have a lot of music rooms, but some are unused due to not many students joining." Ayame replied. "I'll take you there, don't worry."

As they were walking beside the school's humongous sports field; therein lies a bunch of student athletes who were practicing that day. The purple haired girl inspected them from afar and her eyes were immediately fixed on the no 1 school runner. Her legs were long, slender underneath the bloomers she was wearing. The attractive student was absolutely breathtaking, especially with her height as she is considered as one of the tallest girls in school, similar to an international model's height. Her short brown hair glistened under the sun as she sprinted on the tracks with astonishing speed. Aphe paused and continued to gaze at her performance under the hot sun. Spectacular, she thought.

This particular girl, Athena who is apparently Aphrodite's forgotten childhood friend back in Greece, eventually had became Aphe's senior whom she became exceptionally close to. She is Mori and Hani's classmate, two names that shall be familiar once the new girl herself joined the host club, but at what cost? And what role?


	3. The Goddess Type

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the official first chapter of this series. Enjoy reading!

10 Rules of Love by Aphrodite

  1. You think of them way too much. You’re concerned of them and interested to get to know them better. This person is your whole world, the center of the universe. Gender doesn’t matter too.
  2. Without their presence, you feel something is lacking. The emptiness engulfs you slowly without you knowing it. 
  3. You feel immensely happy when they are happy. Happiness is contagious but it is a lot more intense when the person you love is happy because of you. Turning red when they smile at you is a normal thing.
  4. You become flustered, your chest feels tight, the urge to elicit some physical contact is overwhelming but you just can’t do it. Holding hands, a hug, a kiss or even sex becomes a big deal. 
  5. There will be a period where you would wish this feeling would stop, you wished you had never known this person and never develop any significant feelings but you know it’s too late. 
  6. It is not love if it doesn’t hurt you occasionally. Love heals and destroys you at the same time.
  7. You feel that you must be there for them through thick and thin. You want to be this person’s strength.
  8. Every single quality of them becomes augmented. If this person is kind, respectable, responsible, you’ll feel that they are the best and there will be no replacement for them. You look up to them a lot. 
  9. Your life became even more alight with their existence. You distinguish their voices and presence with everyone else. Your sight or focus is always on them.
  10. You would want to be in a relationship with them and spend your life with them. In a heartbeat. There is no lying when it comes to this. If you have all the rules checked above, you are in love.



 

It was another morning in Ouran high school. Aphrodite arrived at her class on time and sat at her desk. After scribbling down the 10 rules of love she made due to past experiences, the girl started drawing instead to pass the time before the teacher comes. From the corner of her eye, she saw Ayame, the female class representative heading to Kyouya's direction. The bespectacled girl was nervous, it was obvious that she had a crush on the Ootori boy. Aphe smirked and started sketching the girl holding hands with Kyouya.

The purple haired girl quickly closed her sketchbook before anyone could take a peek. She stared outside the window while crossing her legs. Her eyes trailed off to the school field and remembered the senior she admires is going to run during P.E today. Athena is truly unlike any other, after all she is the goddess of war or sports in this age and day.

"Hello there, Aphrodite. Good morning." Aphe heard a deep voice spoke, just to see the Ootori boy standing in front of her desk. It has been a week since that incident where she stumbled upon the host club and picked a lavender rose. Ever since then she would avoid having any business with the host club.

"Ah, good morning Ootori. What sort of business do you have with me today?" She replied politely, sensing something peculiar. Both of the students rarely talk to each other in class. In fact, she overlooks everyone in the class since most of her friends were in 2-B and her senior is in 3-A.

"I believe I should cut the chase and tell you the truth. I have a proposal today. We," Kyouya looked at Tamaki, who was giving him a good luck sign. "would like to recruit you as the 8th host club member."

Aphe's eyes widened. "Whoa there slow down Ootori Kyouya, are you being serious right now? Also, why me?"

"The aesthetics, of course. And profit, since we're working harder to increase our revenue and expand the selection of hosts." Kyouya explained. "I've heard a lot of things about you. You can serve a lot of women with that appeal of yours."

Aphrodite stood silent for a while and blinked. In the past she did date girls, until she met her senpai. Then again, it's easier to meet Athena if she's a host in the club. They would spend some time together if not more. Aphe entertained the thought of being one. She stared at the tall bespectacled class president for a minute.

"This is a bizarre idea, but I can't say I'm not entirely interested. Is there a trial period for this?"

Kyouya smiled, clearly seeing through her intentions. "Come to the club today and we can discuss more. Please be my guest."

The purple haired girl looked at him with suspicion. This guy knows what he's doing, and he's pulling her towards another world that consists of him and Suoh Tamaki. Tamaki smiled at the girl from afar and she did the same. After a couple of classes ended, including a short training Aphrodite had at Ouran dance studio, she headed straight to the host club and hoped her tall, athletic and beautiful senior would be there. But she was nowhere to be seen. Hani and Mori had other customers to serve. Aphrodite took a deep breath and sighed in disappointment.

"Hi there senpai, I believe we haven't spoken yet to each other. I'm Fujioka Haruhi." Haruhi spoke, forming a smile. She had huge brown eyes that reflected her sincerity. The natural type, her good gesture and honest affection charms all the ladies who visits the host club.

"Hello Haruhi, nice to meet you. Please, do refer to me as Aphe." The taller girl spoke and smiled back. Eventually they talked about all the host types in the club and Aphe had the privilege to greet all of them. "Also, you are very attractive, Haruhi."

"Thank you so much." The short aquarius girl smiled. Aphe was a couple of inches taller than her, but she found Haruhi as the most attractive person in the room.

"Let's get this started." Kyouya suddenly appeared behind the two girls. He adjusted his glasses.

"I've done a thorough analysis of you, your personality and background, Aphrodite. That being said, you are the goddess type."

Aphrodite's eyes widened yet again. "Well, what does the goddess type do to be honest?"

Tamaki placed his hand on her shoulder and winked. "Just be yourself. What you have and what you are is enough to attract a lot of guests. In fact after our survey, some of our ladies are apparently willing to try to get to know you better."

"Oooo. Makes sense." She pondered while holding her chin. "Female customers wouldn't be a problem to me."

"You'll be in the same team as Haruhi, since she is a girl like you. But the secret is kept by the host club members and teachers until today, the next day and forever." Tamaki continued, whispering politely. "Haruhi is my beloved daughter." Aphrodite nodded and looked at the tomboy, no wonder she found Haruhi as incredibly attractive with her big eyes and small shoulders. It appears that she is a girl after all. Haruhi squinted her eyes from afar.

"That idiot senpai must be talking about me." The tomboy grimaced.

"Good luck Aphe-chan! All the best!" Hani cheerfully spoke. "Athena told me to send her regards to you and best of luck for your first day as a host."

"Athena senpai? Was she here?" Aphe looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of a familiar brown haired girl.

The petite shota senior grinned. "She didn't stay long. Dropped by to pass the message and left. She's not feeling well."

"Ah... okay. Thank you. I'll do my best."

Kyouya looked at her and flashed another corporate smile. "I know you won't disappoint me."

Aphe squinted her eyes, realizing the implication underneath his statement. He expects her to not disappoint him.  
  
  


* * *

 

"You are truly our goddess, Aphrodite. Let us serve you instead!!!" A group of customers flocked the new host's table as they admire her beauty and grace. Aphe smiled sweetly and took their hands, "I am still the host, my dearests, so I will be entertaining you with my love and affection."

"Kyaaa this is too much!!! Aphe-san will you continue to love me until the end of time?"

Aphe looked at her seductively and cupped her face. "My love is only for you." She kissed her forehead and winked.

"Omg..... I just- give me a moment Aphe-sama I am blessed." The girl blushed and stuttered as she excused herself.

"Don't mind her, my goddess. I love you more, my name is Maria and from today onwards I will be your no 1 guest." Another customer bowed and paid tribute with a bouquet of magenta roses and a box of mochi. Magenta rose is the colour of rose she was assigned by none other than the shadow lord. It portrays gratitude and love, which derived from her own eye colour as well.

"I am flattered to hear that, let us walk this path of flowers and romance together, Maria-san!" Aphe embraced the girl, gave a peck on the lips and soon Maria was left in happy tears.

"Ah.... girl's love is the best." The girl sobbed. "Do you watch yuri animes, Aphe-sama?"

"Of course. I like this one and that...."

The magenta-eyed host had several designators for the day, which turned out to be a success. It's been roughly a month since she was assigned by Kyouya to be a host. She had to be present for at least 3 hours after school, not including her dance training. At home she would continue her piano and violin lesson.

"She looks like she's having the time of her life." Haruhi remarked, smiling. Beside her, Kyouya was writing in his black book as usual.

"Naturally she would enjoy it." Kyouya commented with a straight face. "If this works out, our profit will increase by 20%."

"Have you ever entertained the thought of her having male guests?" The tomboy questioned nonchalantly.

Kyouya stopped writing for a second, before continuing to scribble again.

"I must say that is an interesting suggestion but as of now that's not possible."

He stared at Aphrodite from afar, inspecting her every move from head to toe. Watching her in real life is better than streaming all those dance practice videos and piano recitals. This is the girl who picked the lavender rose by accident. Or is it?

Haruhi noticed the senpai spacing out and smiled before walking away.

The day ended well, the twins left the club earlier due to a family outing, Mori and Hani followed suit, Tamaki and Haruhi were arguing about the father and daughter role. Aphrodite went into the changing room and got dressed into her practice outfit, which was a black sleeveless top and black shorts. She took a dark red bomber jacket with her as well. In her mind, she couldn't wait to practice a new dance routine with Athena. The senior will be around as for today's session, after her marathon practice.

As soon as she stepped out of the dressing room, she saw a familiar raven haired classmate with pale skin.

"Ah, Kyouya. You're going to change as well?"

He looked at her intently with a stoic expression. "No. I was searching for you actually, to applaud you for your efforts so far."

It was then she had unknowingly used her charm on the classmate and smiled softly, her eyes downcast as she crouched down for a second to tie her shoelace.

"Thank you, Kyouya. I suppose this is an invaluable experience for me." Aphe looked at him with wide magenta eyes and did her eye smile, "See you again after the weekend."

"See you." Kyouya turned away, waved and left the dressing room, feeling confounded by his own thoughts.

_She has a dancer's body._

The raven haired boy sat again at his desk, contemplating the reason why he could feel himself holding back his breath for one second whenever that smile is right in front of him. He dismissed the thought when Tamaki crept up from behind and wrestled him in a married couple fashion.

"Enough, you idiot. I'll head back soon." Kyouya pushed the blonde away aggressively.

"Fine! No one wants to play with me!" Tamaki sulked. "Also your daughter seems to be doing good for this month, mommy. Keep up the good work!"

"Daughter....?"

"Of course! Aphe is our family member too. I'm the dad who guides and protects Haruhi, you're the mom for Aphe." The french grinned in delight. "Love our two daughters to hell and back."

"Sounds plausible." Kyouya agreed.

The third Ootori son barely ate his food during dinner. For some reason he felt full, yet he kept fiddling with the cutlery that was served on the table. His brother Yuuichi who is now an excellent doctor, noticed the third son's peculiar demeanor.

"Is something the matter, Kyouya? You're not eating." Yuuichi asked, concerned. "You should eat and drink a lot of water. That severe hypotension of yours will act up again."

"It's fine. I had a snack before." Kyouya retorted, covering up his behavior. "I'm not hungry. Talk to you later, aniki."

"Have a good sleep, little brother." Yuuichi frowned.

Kyouya stood up and left the table to walk to his room. He turned on his laptop to organize his files and stared at his favourite picture of her once again. She had made the same expression; that particular smile to him, similar to the photo. He had a folder for everything. Her information, background, activities. He does this to all the club members, updating them once in a while. He began typing more details he learned about her while recalling Tamaki's remark that evening.

_She is my daughter, according to Tamaki. Guess I can entertain that._

He tapped his fingers on his desk, thinking deeply and remembered what Haruhi said about male guests. Suddenly he had an idea.


	4. The Shadow Lord

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyouya is up to no good.

It was another normal day in the host club. Once in a while the guests would present themselves as a princess or a damsel in distress, alas the theme that day was Cinderella and her Prince. Of course, Tamaki was the one who suggested the cheesy idea. After a while some of the club members changed their clothes and wore the school uniform. On that particular day, Kyouya waited until Aphe was free from any designators and approached her seat. The Greek girl was casually scrolling her phone and checking her notifications. 

"Hope it's not too late to request you as my host." He beckoned, smiling.

She locked her phone and looked straight at him.

"I think I'm done for the day." She retorted. They looked at each other eye to eye intensely.

The Hiitachin twins somehow sensed something was up, they grinned and straight up told Haruhi about it. The three of them approached the scene and observed intently from afar. The Ootori boy smiled sardonically as he sat cross legged in front of her.

"Another 30 mins before closing. Plus as you can see Tamaki still has customers."

Aphe squinted her eyes and pondered for a while, unsure of his true intentions. "You were requesting me, I suppose."

"Yes. I'm sure the three at the back would be delighted to observe you as well." He commented, smirking while snapping his fingers at them. The twins chuckled evilly while Haruhi just shuddered and wished her good luck.

"Is this another experiment?" Aphe asked, still feeling suspicious.

"You can say that." He muttered as his friendly facade slowly disappeared. "It's a challenge."

The new host all of a sudden unbuttoned her periwinkle jacket, loosened her tie and shot him a sly smile. Haruhi's eyes widened.

"Why, looks like this calls for a change of strategy. Instead of serving a flower, I will be serving the shadow lord. What do you like, Kyouya-sama? I can be anything you want."

Haruhi's jaw dropped and the twins were recording with their phones. "Holy shit Kaoru lmao this gon be good." Hikaru chided. The other twin chuckled evilly.

"Hmmm, not bad. Go on." Kyouya commented, resting his chin on one hand with a sexy smirk.  
  
Aphe rubbed her head, trying to think of other ways of seducing a man. This is not her area of expertise.

"Why don't you come closer, my host? Surely you can do better than just providing me sweet nothings." He provoked. "Remember, I am spending my money on you and there's nothing in this world that I love other than money."

 _Jesus christ, the Shadow Lord is relentless._ Aphrodite thought, suddenly feeling anxious.

The goddess moved closer to him, placed one hand on his chest and whispered, "Such a handsome man like you shouldn't be entertaining himself with a host, especially of your prestige as a family member of the Ootori group. How about you find your own queen instead, shadow king?" She insinuated, her voice remained sultry.

He raised an eyebrow. "As the king, I have the authority to request anyone I prefer. Besides, my queen is right in front of me."

"Kyouya senpai has the most irrefutable comebacks, that's very typical of him." Haruhi commented, feeling tensed. 

Meanwhile the Greek girl kept her composure, having one hand resting on his lap, even though the temptation to snap and beat him up right now seems even more favorable. The stern look in her eyes gave it all away. She contemplated on her next move.

"....."

"What's wrong? A cat got your tongue?"

Kyouya closed the distance between them before whispering in her ear. His expression turned dark,

"This is your punishment for crossing the line with your guests."

The purple haired girl noticed his sudden change of attitude. She remembered one of the rules of being a host which is to minimize physical contact as possible, but she definitely crossed a line or two by kissing on the forehead and sometimes a peck on the lips. Aphe knew eventually she would be called out because of it, but somehow she wanted to test things out. Perhaps his cool composure is just another facade. She believed that from the start, turns out she was right.

Kyouya leaned back and crossed his arms. "A queen should always respond whenever a king is asking a question."

"My apologies, your highness." Her response sounded a bit cold as she forced herself to play along. Aphe continued, "Let us take this discussion privately next time, shall we?." She winked.

Tamaki had just finished serving his guests for the day. He overheard the conversation between Kyouya and his alleged daughter and gasped. "Omg what are you guys DOING-"

Kyouya smirked and held her in his arms. "I requested her." 

"And the time for that is finally up." Aphe sighed and released herself from his claws. _Good riddance._ She walked towards Haruhi and both of them were immediately dissing the shadow king in which he eavesdropped. The twins chuckled in delight, taking Kyouya's side and admiring him for putting up an act.

"I wish the other girls know how Kyouya senpai truly is." Haruhi spoke.

"But even if they do, they would still love him won't they?" Aphe continued.

 _Correct, my daughter. This is my appeal._ Kyouya thought to himself, as he walked to the twins and asked them to delete their recording earlier.

Aphrodite changed her clothes to her usual one and exited the club once the day is done. It was then she saw Athena who had waited patiently for her to finish serving the guests. The purple haired girl's eyes widened in horror.

"I didn't know you were here, senpai." She gasped.

The brown haired senior smiled coyly. "It's a surprise. Also I wanted to barge in but I saw you.... and Kyouya....."

Aphe shuddered, dropped her bag and ran straight to the girl and shook her shoulders in panic. "No no no it's not what you think, he was testing me and requesting me as a host! I swear it's nothing personal! I'm so sorry!"

She turned 2 shades paler at the realization that Athena might've interpreted everything wrongly, even if they're not lovers, Aphe know it would be the end of the world if the senpai thought she was betraying her. Or so she thought.

"I know, I know. It's okay, you don't have to apologize." Athena held the other girl's hand. "Let's go get some desserts together at the cafe downstairs."

"Alright." Aphe picked up her bag and let out a sigh. True enough she couldn't predict if Athena is lowkey pissed or not. But so far the act meant nothing to her. They walked through the hallway when Aphe noticed both Tamaki and Kyouya were watching her from behind. She pretended the two boys weren't there.

 _You can't stay with her forever._ Kyouya thought and left the hall with his bff.

 

* * *

 

Only Aphrodite knew how Ayame had confessed to the male class representative the other day. Kyouya had flatly rejected her, although he was being polite about it; there was an icy tone coming from him that day. The kind of politeness that could easily break someone if they weren't strong enough. Ayame had spent a lot of time to herself instead of talking to Kyouya about their work. Alas, Aphe quickly erased the sketch she did of them the other day.

"Ayame has been distant with us, do you know why, Aphe?" Tamaki asked as he drank his orange juice. Kyouya pretended not to hear the conversation.

"Well..... her love was rejected. But I'm planning to invite her to the host club this evening. Would you help her find her happiness?" Aphrodite smiled.

The prince type raised his fist in the air and cheered. "Of course! Hope she won't be sad anymore after this!"

As soon as the bespectacled girl entered the host club, she was warmly greeted by Tamaki whom she has never really took notice before since he's just a friend of Kyouya. Tamaki treated her like a princess, and soothed the ache in her heart. Soon enough she realized how the blonde had captivated her heart, and her eyes seemed to be more alight. Ayame realized Tamaki is way more attractive and warm compared to the cold hearted male class president.

"She seems happier." Kyouya commented and looked at the purple haired girl beside him. "So you knew, huh?"

"To be honest I kind of shipped the both of you. She knows." Aphe chuckled. "That's the reason why she told me everything."

She took out her white sketchbook and lightly sketched the prince and Ayame having the time of her life. Kyouya inspected her drawing.

"Hmmm not bad." He smirked. "Draw me next time."

"I'd draw you as a spawn of satan." Aphe joked, laughing evilly. "Actually, I drew you and Ayame before but erased it before anyone can see them."

"A stan behavior." He sneered.

"I do stan a lot of girl idols who can sing and dance. Maybe one day I can be like them. Speaking of which I would like to suggest something for the host club merchandise other than a photobook." She suggested.

"And that is?" He questioned.

"Photocards. It's better than selling photographs since it'll get worn out pretty fast. But photocards, the fans can keep them anywhere in their wallet, books or albums." Aphe suggested. "Idols have a lot of that."

Kyouya pondered for a while. Indeed they will need an official photographer for the photobook that will be released at the end of the year. Adding a photocard of any member would increase the appeal of said merchandise. Better yet merchandises aren't just restricted for the Ouran students, anyone can purchase them online from their official webpage.

Aphe took out her own photocard showing her face up close. "This is mine, it was taken last year and I still have it. It's my favourite."

The Hiitachin twins snatched the card and commented. "Wow this sure looks neat and sturdy, also you look good."

"Thanks Kaoru and don't forget to give it back to me." She added.

"We'll keep it!" The twins echoed and hid the card. Aphe sighed. Kyouya sneaked behind them and snatched it from their hands.

"This is mine lads, a reference for the future merchandise. Thank you." He smirked.

"Kyouya senpai is playing dirty!" The twins whined and stuck out their tongue.

The day was a bit free for the goddess type, hence she had spent most of the time accompanying Athena, Hani and Mori at their designated table. There were other two guests who wanted to get to know Aphe as well aside from her regulars. Sometimes the goddess of love can be slightly jealous leaving the senior alone in a host's hands, also the fact that Athena has never requested her yet. Maybe one day.

 

* * *

 

Kyouya was sitting in front of his laptop at his room, currently checking the club's budget for the month. He felt a tinge of dizziness for working and studying for too long at the same time without eating. It was finally the weekend. Before he took off to his bed, he stared at the photocard he stole from the goddess type. At this point he couldn't even bother counting the amount of pictures, evidences or materials he has of her. Also, he included the part where she and her senior Athena are best friends, or more than that.

He didn't sleep a lot that night and he started to feel the hypotensive symptoms catching up. The next morning Tamaki abruptly called his grumpy best friend at 7 o'clock saying he'll drop by because he's bored, Kyouya groaned angrily in sheer annoyance.  
  
"Kyouya! I'll drop by today and I'll bring your daughter along so us 3 classmates can chill! Yahoo! I won't be bored anymore!" He shouted happily. "Let's do our assignments together!!"

"Do what you want idiot, I'm gonna sleep. Go fucking die in a ditch for all I care!" He growled and cancelled the call. Kyouya immediately buried his head into the pillow and covered his body away from the sunlight. He cursed for one last time before entering a deep sleep but not for long. 

Aphrodite grabbed her grey jacket and paired it with her black pinafore with a white frilly long sleeved shirt. Tamaki’s invitation didn’t sound any different than Kyouya’s to be honest, even if friendlier. It’s an order. Whatever the lord wants, his host club servants must follow. Then again, she only had until 6pm before her usual music classes in the weekend. Aphe obliged to the Prince’s wishes and anticipated the fateful day. 

“Yay Aphe you’re ready! Let’s go!” Tamaki cheered from the window of his limo.

“Let’s go.” Aphe entered the Suoh family limousine and sat across Tamaki. He grinned.

“This is what I usually do during weekends, bothering the host club members since I have no other friends to hang out with.” He confessed, slightly frowning with his childlike innocence.

Aphe smiled, thinking of a pure white rose whenever he spoke. “It’s ok, all of us love you anyway. You are the dad of the host club. So we’re heading to mommy’s house I believe?”

“Yeap. You’ve never been to the Ootori mansion haven’t you?”

“Never. Not in my wildest dreams.” Aphrodite replied nonchalantly. “Did you bring your assignment?”

Tamaki’s jaw dropped. “HOLY SHIT I FORGOT ABOUT THAT-“

The Greek girl laughed. “I knew you would say that, it’s fine I suppose. You can have a copy of mine later.”

He sobbed and hugged her. “Thank you Aphe you’re a lifesaver! I hope Kyoya doesn’t mind me hugging his daughter!”

“Why would he? I’m just a daughter.”

“Well, I am possessive of my own daughter! She’s mine.” Tamaki snorted, referring to Haruhi. He took out his phone and proudly revealed his wallpaper which is a pic of him and Haruhi happily grinning together.

“That’s just you, dad.” Aphe remarked, smiling.

_He’s definitely in love with her. Everyone in this club knows that. Not sure if Haruhi feels the same though._

It was Aphrodite's first time, at least in her memory, to step into the Ootori mansion and compound. It was as huge as she expected with the special police force guarding the house. The two of them were inside as Fuyumi greeted with a warm welcome. Behind her there was a silhouette of the other two Ootori brothers, Yuuichi and Akito who were discussing confidential matters. Aphe looked at the two and studied them. 

"Ah, glad you’ve informed me earlier, Tamaki so that I can prepare something for you guys to eat. Have a seat, and....." Fuyumi smiled. She then noticed a familiar purple haired girl beside the French boy.

"Are you Aphrodite, the Greek student?”

"Me? Yes I am." Aphe nodded.

The big sister smiled. "Kyouya told me a lot about you. You look beautiful today."

Aphrodite stood still, wondering what the hell the vice president of the host club had told his sister. Her thoughts trailed away as she tried to remember his wicked and sarcastic remarks he would make during host club hours. It was very unbecoming of him. She snapped from her trance and smiled back.

"Thank you, I am honoured." She bowed politely.

Tamaki was cracking up jokes and charming Kyouya's sister. As always she would fall for him and be impressed due to his chivalry. Tamaki is like the son-in-law for the Ootori family. Aphe's mind wandered off, thinking of the things she ought to do for tonight. Perhaps she would either be practicing music or create another dance routine, which reminded her the Ouran Dance Concert isn’t so far away from now.

“Aphe! Let’s wake Kyouya up and do our assignments!” Tamaki suggested after Fuyumi left.

“Is it ok? But I suppose Kyouya’s bodyguards know you by heart.”

“Yeap, Tachibana and Hotta does!” He spoke of the two over three bodyguards who were assigned to guard the third Ootori son.

Tamaki and Aphrodite slowly walked towards Kyouya’s spacious bedroom with a dark blue king sized bed, fit for a shadow lord. On top of it therein lies the raven haired boy, sleeping soundly without a care in the world. His phone was on the floor, most probably after throwing it due to Tamaki’s loud annoyance in wee hours of the morning.

Aphe peeked at the mountain of books on Kyouya’s desk, and her photocard in a frame beside his computer.

 _Hey, that’s mine. I suppose I should take it back._ She mulled over the thought.

But she retracted her hand after grimly reminding herself of his unusual ways of giving out punishments. Being a daughter of an Ootori kid isn’t an easy feat. His expectations are high, also any flaws or misbehavior shall be reprimanded.

Tamaki shook his best friend’s shoulders and shouted in his ear. “Wake up, mon ami! Rise and shine! Who the hell sleeps until 12 PM in the weekends?! We need your help with an assignment!”

Aphe gasped at the corner, noticing his demonic aura as Tamaki’s teeth chattered in fear. Kyouya groaned angrily and snapped. “I slept at 5 doing a lot of work unlike you blonde idiot who does absolutely nothing during the weekends!“

He got up and hissed, balling up his fists to punch the intimidated and defenseless French boy before noticing a familiar girl at the corner of his room.

“Aphe?” Kyouya spoke, his eyes and expression suddenly turned back to normal. Tamaki took a deep breath and thanked jesus for saving him.

“Ah yeah, good morning Kyouya.” The purple haired girl smiled sheepishly, using the eye smile she always had. “I’m here just to complete my assignment the other day with you and Tamaki. Sorry to disturb your beauty sleep though.”

Kyouya blinked, clueless at the surprising outcome. His hair was a mess, he had significant eye bags and his glasses were nowhere to be seen. Even then, he remained a stoic expression while trying to analyze the situation. He felt his anger is starting to wear off.

“Bravo! Your daughter is here to save the day! No more hypotensive evil lord! Now go get dressed mon ami, we’ll wait for you at the study room! Hehehehe!” The blonde grinned in delight. Aphe at the side recorded that particular name in her head; Hypotensive Evil Lord. He does have hypotension and it gives him a headache upon waking up abruptly and lack of sleep.

Kyouya got up silently and walked to the private bathroom. Tamaki and Aphe immediately left the room laughing. Inside, Kyouya had looked at his own reflection in a majestic mirror and rolled his eyes.

_Of all days she had to see me in this state. The cool type is no longer valid._


	5. First Ballroom Event

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dance party with a lil twist. Also thanks for the views and kudos tbh, I am honoured. Would like to hear some opinions from you guys too!

“We have one peculiar guest. She has an illness and her name is Kanako. She changes her host every now and then.” Kyouya muttered, while typing on his laptop.

“She’s the famous host-hopper!” The twins exclaimed. “Everyone knows her because of that.”

“Or maybe she doesn’t have a type?” Aphe commented, since she recognized that particular girl as her guest before.

“Aphe-chan, most of the guest who come here have their own preference.” Hani mentioned, smiling. “Just like your senpai too.”

“Makes sense.” Aphrodite crossed her arms. She looked at the bouquet of fresh red roses in front of her and took one of them.

“She has her own reasons. Suppose we could find out today when she arrives.” Kyouya adjusted his glasses and smiled.

The purple haired girl squinted at the host club mommy. Something told her Kyouya might knew the reason all along but he never told anyone about it. He might, since he knows everything.

The host-hopper was particularly enamored with Haruhi, which makes sense since she doesn’t suit any other type except The Natural Type. She spoke to her and flirted a lot. Aphe watched from the sidelines since that day she doesn’t have her usual crowd coming in. The Greek goddess held one rose with it’s stalk in her hands, barely caring about the thorns that was pricking her.

_Love hurts_ , she thought. _It always does._

The short haired guest turned red and flustered when Haruhi commented how interested she was regarding tableware- especially teacups. She would know everything about a brand or craftsmanship. Eventually a meek looking boy came in and she froze upon seeing him. The boy turned out to be the son of a wealthy tableware enterprise, supposed to be a childhood friend of hers but things didn’t work out between them.

After the boy left, the guest excused herself, feeling down of all sorts after witnessing the boy she loved talking about moving to England.

“They are supposed to be engaged by this year but apparently his personality is too flat, docile and uninteresting.” Kyouya remarked nonchalantly. Haruhi immediately cringed at his unabashed criticism.

“The shadow king sure is cruel today.” Aphe commented, raising an eyebrow.

“You mean, everyday.” Haruhi chided. The purple haired girl looked at her and started pondering about all the mean things Kyouya had said.

“But Tohru is a good guy.” Hani senpai later commented on the boy.

“This club is established so that all women can find their own happiness.” Tamaki urged, determination was in his tone. “We must help the two of them. Who’s with me?”

The twins raised their hands and grinned. Haruhi looked at Aphe as they nodded in agreement after. Kyouya drifted away and went back to his desk, thinking of a strategy. What the lord wants, he obeys.

“The lord’s wishes is an order.” Aphe stated. “Let’s do this.”

 

* * *

 

The day of the ballroom event finally arrived. All the guests and hosts were dressed exemplary in formal clothing. Tamaki as usual would choose royal colours white and gold for his tuxedo. The vice president decided to stay in character as the shadow king; dressed in full black. Aphrodite showed up in a champagne coloured gown with minimal accessories, some of the ladies were ogling at her and would want to line up to dance with the Greek goddess.

“Welcome to the host club’s grand dance party.” Tamaki announced as the guests clapped in unison. The school’s chamber orchestra started performing. Aphe looked at the musicians and recognized some of the girls, they were Chise and Arisa, who areloyal customers to Tamaki. But that night they decided to play the violin and viola for the club.

 _Next time I’ll be joining them for sure._ She thought.

Kyouya smiled as he announced, “We wish for all of you to enjoy this dance with the host club members and cherish the moment.Also to the Queen who has the most graceful dance tonight shall have the privilege to receive a warm kiss from our handsome King.”

The crowd cheered and screamed in delight. Haruhi sighed and shook her head. The twins chuckled as Aphe walked to the brunette tomboy, “Let me have the first dance before the lord’s plan is commenced.” She smiled and offered her hand.

“Well, not that I mind anyway.” Haruhi smiled back as she took the tall girl’s hand. From the corner of her eye she saw Tamaki sobbing at Kyouya for not having the first dance.

“Make sure you enjoy the food, Haruhi. It’s a treat.” Kyouya insinuated.

“A treat.... like ootoro?” Haruhi blushed and hid behind Aphe. The purple haired girl gasped and the whole host club followed suit. Kyouya even broke his pen noticing the tomboy’s reaction. He immediately called delivery as Aphe reassured Haruhi not to be embarrassed and she would treat her to lots of fat tuna belly, the ootoro, later.

The twins grabbed the embarrassed Haruhi and hugged her. “Damn these rich bastards....” She cursed and hid her face.

Kanako approached the tomboy and invited her for a dance, since she was the waltz tutor for Haruhi after all. Aphrodite stood at the side after dancing with a couple of ladies, with Kyouya beside her doing the same. Her eyes were focused on her senpai who was merrily dancing with Hani.

“All by your lonesome, princess?” Kyouya chided as he stared at the guests.

“Ah yeah, just got done entertaining some ladies. Turns out some of them brought their gfs here to meet me.” Aphrodite smiled.

“Why are you guys standing idly by? Dance!” Tamaki shouted from afar and chuckled. A lady immediately fainted only by being in close proximity with the french prince.

“Huh? Me?” The purple haired girl pointed at herself. Kyouya bowed at her, smiling with his spectacular grey eyes staring straight at her as he spoke, “Will you let me have this dance, your highness?”

“.....”

She paused for a moment, her mouth slightly agape. It doesn’t feel like a mother and daughter interaction anymore. In her eyes Kyouya had many roles; the class representative, the vice president, the cool type, mommy of the club, the hypotensive shadow lord, the third Ootori son. The bespectacled boy has his own reputation to keep yet he is multifaceted, he’s not what or who everyone think he is as he playfully read and analyze the minds of people he deemed beneficial.

Ootori Kyouya is something else, surely. His capabilities are beyond the ordinary 17 year old. People have commented that he is wise beyond his years, he looks very matured and acts the part. But what exactly is she looking for that night regarding him, Aphe didn’t know how to enunciate it.

“Why not, right.” Aphrodite smiled and took his hand, playing along with his gesture. It would be an insult to refuse with the guests around. Fact is, she had never been to a dance party before.

Her involvement with the host club changed a lot of normal routines in her life. As she danced to his tune, she noticed something was different that night. To her, Kyouya is no longer her ordinary classmate. He was something else.

“Your hair is a bit long, and you don’t seem so pale or gaunt anymore. You actually look healthy.” She commented.

“Really? There is no difference. Must be your eyes playing tricks on you tonight, Aphrodite.” Kyouya answered, forming a sly smile on his lips.

“.....Oh.” Aphe narrowed her eyes. _Such a big flirt._ He twirled her around and whispered,

“You look effortlessly gorgeous. Couldn’t take my eyes off you, I would be a fool if I do.” Kyouya lightly pushed her to another girl who was waiting to dance. Aphe glanced at him for one last time before proceeding to entertain the cute guest.

“They actually look good together. Like watching two peas in a pod.” One of Aphe’s customers commented. The other continued, “I just noticed how handsome and dashing Ootori Kyouya looks in a black tux. Also Aphrodite in a gold dress with her visuals? Truly embodied her name as the goddess type. But something tells me they’re just colleagues.”

 

* * *

 

The plan worked well. Kanako and Tohru reconciled with their feelings and won the best couple of the night. Instead of Tamaki, Kyouya decided that Kanako shall receive a kiss from Haruhi, and that riled up the best friend of his. Much to the shadow king's amusement, Tamaki accidentally pushed Haruhi closer to the queen of the night and they kissed on the lips instead.

Tamaki cried as Haruhi blushed and smiled. Aphrodite grinned at the sight and clapped. Soon the couple waltzed throughout the night.

“I love you, Kanako.”

“I love you too, Tohru.”

“Please let me propose to you again.”

It was the end of the host-hopping era for Kanako. Some of the guests heard the couple’s confession and teared up. Aphe smiled as her eyes sparkled at the sight of happiness and love. It doesn’t have to be hers. Other people’s love story can be good too. It was evidently a great night.

“Have you ever danced with a guy before?” She heard a familiar voice from behind. Kyouya approached her with two classes of cocktail.

“No I haven’t. Actually this is my first time attending a grand ballroom event. I don’t think mother would’ve let me back in my place.” Aphe took a glass for herself.

“Your parents are not around most of the time. I thought you were the rebellious type.” Kyouya commented.

She blinked. “Might be true. I think if not because of club duties I would be playing music with the rest of my friends.”

“Chise and Arisa, the girls from next door. I know them.” He commented as he took a sip.

“You know everyone.” She scoffed. “Also maybe next time I’ll be playing with the orchestra. I’ll be inviting them to play for us too.”

“If you’re not a host anymore that is.” He narrowed his eyes. "You have a job remember." 

“Where would you be if you didn’t attend anything from your previous school?” Kyouya interrogated, albeit casually.

Aphrodite leaned back at the balcony and gazed at the stars.

“The laboratory.”

She closed her eyes, remembering bits and pieces of the past. Her train of thoughts were interrupted when she noticed Athena was looking at her, smiling as Hani senpai held her hand and Mori’s. Reality seemed a bit better now. She remembered the white walls of the lab, the sounds of metals clanking and the buzzing of electrical equipment were a huge part of her childhood, up until middle school. Over time Aphe had found something major in common between her and Tamaki, that they were both alone in the family with no siblings; also they had no childhood. It is the reason why the goddess type doesn't mind following the lord's instructions. He was lonely too. She looked at Tamaki and the host club and knew this is a family. As for Kyouya, she hasn't figured him out yet. She's not too sure about wanting to analyze him nor opening up to him, plus her senior is still around for that.

“Anyway, I’ll see you later.” Aphe forced a smile on her face and waved at Kyouya.

The raven haired boy sipped his drink and stared at her, until her figure left his sight.

 _Something isn’t right. But her records told nothing about it._ He thought.


	6. The Female Manager

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aphrodite faces her severe commitment issues in this chapter. 
> 
> I did the Mary Sue litmus test for her, she's like in the range of 22-29 points. Glad it's not 50 lmao. Cheers!

Houshakuji Renge. An anomaly of the day or week even, ever since she showed up. She is a guest who refused and insulted the host club king since day one. The girl had called him a fraud, unfit to be a prince for being too flamboyant, obnoxious. Turns out she has fallen in love with the shadow king at first sight, from a photograph her father gave her in a business meeting. It soon upgraded into fiance when she's determined to marry Kyouya. Conveniently her father is an important business partner of the Ootori group, so all of this makes sense in the beginning, even if Tamaki instantly felt betrayed by the mommy of the host club. Other members were convinced her words were true until Renge's detailed description of Kyouya came to light.  
  
"It was love at first sight, considering how he showed his loving affection towards flowers, how he had rescued a little kitten in the pouring rain, a person who is soft, gentle, altruistic, never selfish and never asks for anything in return!"

The description threw off everyone in the host club and set them on fire. The twins screamed in horror at the back while running across the room, Hani senpai lost his balance and fainted, he was picked up by Mori, Aphrodite spat out the tea she was drinking, Tamaki pulled his hair in frustration and Haruhi could feel her heart dropping to the floor. Kyouya was the only one who kept his composure while having his thinking cap on.

"Renge-san, must it be that you have mistaken Kyouya senpai for someone else?" Haruhi asked politely.

"No I will never! He is exactly like the game character I love in Uki Doki Memorial, Ichijo Miyabi, my soulmate!" The light brown haired girl squealed in delight.  
  
"Omg.... an otaku!" The twins reacted simultaneously.

"So I believe this character, Ichijo Miyabi wears glasses and you have fantasized the whole thing, even to the extent of betrothal." Kyouya calmly stated.  
  
"Yes, you look just like him! Perfect!" Renge chirped.  
  
"Now I understand." The Ootori boy smirked. Tamaki wiped his tears after realizing her claims were false and clung to his bff.  
  
Aphrodite placed the teacup on the table after frantically wiping the excess tea she spat out, luckily only bits of it smeared her jacket. She pretended to be a bit busy, sometimes checking out the new girl who is Kyouya's alleged fiance. The word fiance brought back memories of the past, it made something in her snap, like the bitter aftertaste of a Turkish coffee she has always hated, or the sudden calm right before a storm. A series of flashbacks entered her mind, the goddess type didn't realize it until Haruhi pointed out,  
  
"Aphe, are you okay? You don't look good."   
  
Upon hearing Haruhi's question, the other host club members looked at her except for Renge who was busy thinking of Ichijo Miyabi. Tamaki gasped as Kyouya immediately fixed his gaze on the 2nd daughter of the club.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking. I just spilled a bit of tea." Aphe replied, barely feigning a smile. Is this PTSD, something that she learned while reading medical books in her household library. She looked pale and distant all of a sudden, remembering the vivid past. Her hands felt cold and clammy to the touch.

Arranged marriage. Fiance. These things would always trigger some memories. The defining experience that could make everyone rethink of their future. These are the children of prestigious families with a great responsibility. Aphrodite would remember all the times her parents would bring her to business meetings and meet the business partner's son, introducing them to each other somehow. Or that one time when a parent was so obsessed to wed his son to Aphe due to her promising looks and future, a contract was even laid out before coincidentally rejected by her parents for their own benefit, not hers. It made her sick to the stomach whenever these things would come up, and she was extremely glad that she made it out unscathed. Emptiness filled her mind and soul when she remembered her past lovers who would snap and leave when the marriage prospect came up. The thing about relationships in school, they never last, she was in a girls school on top of that. Her beautiful exes would be wedded to some rich dude and it was inevitable, but it scarred her to the core.  
  
Even so, the goddess type isn't afraid to love again. What she's afraid of would be the inability to feel love, due to massive things happening in the past or present. This co-ed Ouran academy served as a new start, but she was unable to absorb the vibe yet. Whenever girls cheered upon the charming boys, it still looked foreign. The purple haired girl remembered the boys who had liked her ever since she transferring to this school; those who have confessed to her but she rejected politely. Non-committal life has begun to suit her especially after being a host. A host can't really have a girlfriend or a boyfriend for that matter or at least stay in an unofficial relationship.  
  
_This is not love._  
  
Suddenly she felt a warm tug on her shoulders. It's the new cute girl Renge. Aphe was so lost in her thoughts, she missed the part where the fiance business was made up and not a reality.   
  
"Are you a member of the host club too? My name is Houshakuji Renge! I'm gonna be the host club's first female manager alongside Kyouya-sama!"   
  
"Yes I am. I'm Aphrodite, just call me Aphe."   
  
The light blonde haired girl with high pitched voice grinned and shook her hands. Aphrodite couldn't help but to form a smile again. With all due respect, Renge is quite attractive despite her eccentricities. She felt herself loosening up for a while and showed the new girl around the music room, thinking of it as charity work for the alleged fiance. Kyouya inspected the two girls as he whispered a thing or two to his bff.  
  
Renge went home after a while and the host club was about to close for the day. Eventually the truth came around to the goddess type, that the fiance thing was all for show and she was the last person to know that due to her headspace being in the past. Aphe had spoke nothing about her triggers and decided to help herself and change to a casual clothing before heading back. She remembered her dance practice schedule on that day and thought of things to prepare. Turning off the light in the dressing room, she grabbed her bag and closed the curtains after the change. It was then she turned around just to see Kyouya staring straight at her in suspicion.  
  
"If you're wondering something is wrong about me, forget it." Aphrodite remarked, turning away to grab her phone inside her bag.  
  
"Well, I had thought that maybe you were engaged before, it didn't work and brought upon some trauma from the past. It's written all over your face, daughter." He immediately deduced, based on her initial reaction.  
  
"It's either that or maybe you're actually concerned that I'm betrothed." Kyouya added with sarcasm.  
  
The girl sighed deeply before uttering, "Best not to flatter yourself, mommy. About the past, no I'm not engaged to a stranger, not now, not in the future."  
  
"My apologies for assuming you were, since it's not in any of your records. I've checked roughly 10 times at best." He adjusted his glasses.  
  
Aphe squinted her eyes as she looked at him.

 _10 times, that's a lot._ She quickly brushed off the issue and smiled.  
  
"Don't fret about it, Kyouya. It's in the past. Also, I assume none of the host club members have been in a relationship before, am I correct?"   
  
"Not that I know of." He answered coldly. "What about it?"  
  
"If any of you guys ever need relationship advice, I'm here to help and do my part as the goddess of love." Aphe had a half smile across her lips as she pointed at him.  
  
"Especially you. If you ever find yourself interested in a girl, or Renge even, I can offer some help to make your romance flourish."   
  
Kyouya smirked, his eyes remained downcast as he flipped over his Death Note and scribbled in it.   
  
_I'm afraid that's not possible, darling._

 

 

* * *

  
  
  
  
A lot of things occurred in one week, the fact that Renge had discussed with Kyouya about the next theme, he had to admit that her ideas were brilliant due to her otaku nature. She would think of various ideas to spice things up, even Aphe was impressed and down for it. Soon the entire host club were hooked on the idea. Last but not least, Renge decided to produce a short film of all the club members being in character, at least in her standards. Kyouya was an exception since he had a special seat as the co-director. The Ootori boy was fairly pleased.  
  
"You, Aphrodite, will be the goddess who has lost the ability of love after having a series of unsuccessful relationships!" Renge declared.  
  
Aphrodite's eyes widened, realizing the character she was assigned with isn't too far from her real self. Perhaps this is not a coincidence. She immediately saw Kyouya smirking at the back with Tamaki blinking his eyes at her and the vice president. Haruhi who was practicing her lines remained clueless. The Hiitachin twins eavesdropped the whole conversation.  
  
_This really be the day my clownery is exposed, being the miserable shit that I am._ She thought as Renge handed her the script. The goddess maintained a straight face.  
  
"Ready, set, action!"   
  
After filming the rest of the club members, it was Aphe's turn to act. Her scene consisted of her accidentally opening her box of love letters she had collected from her exes, and whenever she goes, she is reminded of their smile and happiness that was once hers. There were scenes from other girls and boys confessing to her but was flatly rejected by her heartless demeanor. It ended when the weather started to turn dark and it rained heavily, soaking her clothes with tears forming in her eyes. The last turn for the recording would be Haruhi, who was bullied by her seniors and a scene of aggression came up, in which the recording were stopped by the co-director himself.   
  
"Violence is prohibited within the host club members, Renge. Please stop being a pest, as this is extremely inconvenient." Kyouya insulted and shot her a menacing glare. He had no mercy doing what he felt was reasonable.  
  
Renge started to cry and she was comforted by Aphrodite who had a towel over her wet hair. Haruhi started explaining to the director about her actions and how she doesn't love Kyouya for who he is, it's just another projection of her fantasies from a character she loved. Tamaki almost beat up the two unsuspecting boys for assuming they caused violence towards Haruhi. She stopped the senpai luckily and the two boys scurried off the recording site. Soon enough everyone went back, Renge left the scene feeling a little embarrassed but clarified. Aphrodite assured her that one day she will love someone for who they are and it's going to be a thrilling experience.  
  
A week later, all of a sudden the guests of the host club commented and praised the hosts for their immaculate acting. Tamaki immediately suspected it was the shadow king's strategy for publishing the tapes for extra coins.   
  
"I knew it was you." Tamaki covered his eyes, mortified by the bff's manipulative act. Kyouya let out a low chuckle.  
  
"I may have destroyed the evidence but I saved the rest of the recording and sold it to our guests. The profit wasn't that bad, commendable next to a fault." The vice president commented.  
  
"Your acting was brilliant and so relatable, my goddess! I still miss my ex back in middle school." One of the ladies commented as they swarmed around Aphrodite. The purple haired girl laughed awkwardly. Of course it was brilliant, it's the story of her life, at least an important core of it. Now the whole host club knows without her having to confess anything, especially to Kyouya.   
  
"One day you'll find someone better than your ex, I'm sure." Aphe caressed the girl's cheek. She blushed and agreed.  
  
"Impressive acting indeed by our goddess of love. Or is it merely just an act? Let's wait and see." Kyouya looked at the camera, breaking the forth wall as he formed a sly smile on his lips. 


	7. Ouran Dance Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sneak peek at the dance studio and the twins are at it again with their pranks.

“It is said that Aphrodite had many lovers. But it is not stated that she loves them with or without attachment.”

Aphe knew her existence would garner attention eventually. She remembered during her junior and middle school days, she would bite her nails in silence where everyone couldn’t find her; just to calm herself down during situations like this. Over time that particular habit faded. People would always talk about her, this is a known fact. She absolutely hated it but she was trained by her own mother not to react. At all. 

After a while of suppressing her emotions, she noticed the emergence of her other sides. The others, or more precisely her alters. The quiet girl is different from the talkative and sociable one. And then there’s the child. There’s a dude too once in a while. This dude loves romancing the ladies. He knows what to say to make people trip and fall for her. Also the expressions as well.

Aphe relied on the “dude” side during her host club duties. History might repeat again, she thought. There will be drama. But something tells her the host club members would stand up for her if anything happens. A rude guest who harassed Haruhi was immediately blacklisted from entering the host club. That’s how protective they are of their members. Truth be told, she would do the same if anyone would harass Haruhi. Haruhi is the true princess of the club, who is loved and protected by all the members. Aphe had sworn to protect her once she knew how innocent and kind Haruhi is.

 _But if the host herself is problematic, would they kick her out?_   She thought in silence.

Aphrodite said nothing upon listening to the girls talking behind her. It’s just another gossip session, nothing new. It was much worse back in girls school. Aphe loved the school and most of the students, except for some of them she had made history with.

The purple haired girl entered the dance studio and witnessed her colleagues who was just getting ready to train. The studio was huge, complete with mirrors on all sides for easier reference. There’s a mock stage as well for them to practice.

“There you are! Glad you came, Aphe!” One of the girls spoke and hugged her.

“Heard you’ve been busy at the host club.” Another girl commented. “How was it?”

“It’s alright. Customers are around but not all the time I suppose.” Aphe replied.

“Tamaki-senpai is so handsome.” One of the juniors confessed and fangirled. “I wanna try the club but I’m too afraid to go.”

“Whaaat, then you should try! No harm done. I can show you around next time.” Aphe urged and chuckled. The girl nodded in enthusiasm.

“Okay ladies it’s time to practice.” The female instructor spoke. “We’ll be doing a couple of songs from the reality show Produce 48. It’s going to be interesting.”

“My favourite!” Aphe cheered as the girls agreed. The dance club members almost have the same interests. Reality shows, music, kpop, boy or girl bands. It’s also the reason why they bonded pretty fast. Some of them can speak Korean as well.

“Let’s start by doing Sorry Not Sorry....”

* * *

 

A couple of hours later the class was dismissed. They were all fatigued but satisfied with the training. The instructor gave more tips on facial expressions to use according to the type of music. A sexy concept begs for seductive moves with a sultry stare and smile. Meanwhile a cute concept would have a lot of waving, doing heart signs, grinning and winking.

Aphe drank a lot of water after the training, quenching her thirst. She looked at the time and estimated her schedule for the day.

“So lemme get this straight,” A girl muttered. “You have to be a host after school, and then continue with the dance club after. That sounds pretty tiring.”

“Yeah, it is sometimes. But I always get enough sleep by the time I arrive at home.”

“That’s good to hear at least. How are the boys overall? I don’t like the sound of host clubs, the guys always seem to be a Casanova of some sort.”

“They’re nice actually. Hilarious. You wouldn’t know what they’re up to next.” Aphe smiled. “There was this one time we had an island getaway theme and everyone had to wear skimpy to attract guests. That was chaotic.”

“What?! So they stripped? That’s insane—“ Another girl commented and blushed.

“Not in front of the guests but yeah all the men were topless.”

“I can’t imagine Kyouya and Tamaki, my own classmates without clothes.” Another girl shrieked. “I feel dirty even by speaking it into existence.”

“You should come and see for yourself. Try the club.” Aphe seduced and winked.

“No no no I’m not going to be tempted by the likes of yall!” The girl blushed and hid at the corner. “You share the same mind now with the rest of the hosts!”

“Don’t be afraid my little kitten.....” Aphe purred and crawled to the shy girl.

“Enough clownery, Aphe!”

It was another day for Aphe to do her host club duties, except this day turned out to be a bit different compared to the others. She didn’t have much customers on that day, so did some of the hosts. Kyouya was typing idly by on his laptop and studying at the same time. His multitasking abilities are akin to a housewife, hence being the host club’s mommy.

"Hey Aphe, can you show us your dance moves? We can play your favourite song." The twins suggested, particularly Hikaru.

"What's this for?" Aphe raised an eyebrow, curious of their intentions. 

"We saw one of your dance practices yesterday, alas we want to see it live." The twins grinned.

"Aphe's dance is good. I'm the biggest fan." Athena commented cheerfully. "Show them, Aphe."

Aphe contemplated for a while before agreeing. “Ok fine, but yours is better. I suppose should pick a song. Side to side by Ariana? I've been practicing that one as of late."

"Affirmative." The twins replied and played the song via a bluetooth speaker. Kyouya averted his eyes from his laptop to concentrate on the main star.

The purple haired girl closed her eyes, her hands neatly tucked behind her back, taking a deep breath before starting to dance while lip syncing. She raised her head and smiled provocatively. Her hands pointed at the audience, as she twirled and her hand movements signaling all eyes should be on her. 

 _I'm talkin' to ya_  
_See you standing over there with your body_  
_Feeling like I wanna rock with your body_  
_And we don't gotta think 'bout nothin'_

Aphrodite pushed strands of her hair backwards, brushing the rest to the side and twirled after the verse. She pointed a finger towards the twins. Kaoru seemed pleased with the act as Hikaru's eyes widened. Haruhi gasped.  
  
_I'm comin' at ya_  
_'Cause I know you got a bad reputation_  
_Doesn't matter, 'cause you give me temptation_  
_And we don't gotta think 'bout nothin'_

  
Her hips swayed as she sung the lyrics inaudibly, and crouched down to the floor, flipping her hair and sat horizontally, her long, slender legs pausing before moving towards her torso and she stood up once more, moving three steps closer. Her hand movements were fluid as her eyes automatically scanned for another target to charm.   
  
She noticed Kyouya was looking directly into her magenta orbs. His expression remained stoic, even though he was holding his breath for a second. The goddess type returned his stare and made it as if she was singing and dancing to him.  
  
_These friends keep talkin' way too much_  
_Say I should give you up_  
_Can't hear them no, 'cause I_  
_I've been here all night_  
_I've been here all day_  
_And boy, got me walkin' side to side_  
_I've been here all night_  
_I've been here all day_  
_And boy, got me walkin' side to side_

Aphe ended the dance with a seductive smile and an immaculate ending pose while catching her breath. Her eyes remained downcast and demure for a while, as she stood up and brushed her hair. The gay girls who were watching clapped and screamed. They had heart eyes all over. The prince of the host club had his jaw dropped and feeling slightly embarrassed. Hani was cheering happily and giving heart signs with Athena. 

"Not bad not bad." The twins exclaimed and grinned in delight. Tamaki coughed as a light blush formed on his face. Haruhi stood there in awe and clapped.

Athena quickly hugged the junior and squeezed her in her embrace. "You shouldn't be stealing the host club customers with your sexiness!!!! But alas I am your biggest fan so I approve!"

Aphe chuckled in happiness. At least her senpai approved it, other people's opinions doesn't matter. She hugged her back and smiled sweetly.

The twins looked at Kyouya, who had his pupils dilated and a slightly parted mouth. He quickly adjusted his glasses and looked away, writing in his black notebook. She knows how to enchant her viewers, a mark of a true host. 

"Kyouya senpai, you're acting weird today." Kaoru smirked. Hikaru echoed his remark.

"At least I’m not as perverted to ask a classmate to dance for me.” Kyouya coldly retorted and concentrated on his work. He was drawn back to his world which consisted of numbers, charts and more money.

"It’s just a dance, plus you watched it too. You should thank us next time." The twins stuck their tongue out and left. Kyouya sighed and rubbed his head. 

Haruhi tapped on her shoulder. “That was great, Aphe. I enjoyed it.” She remarked and smiled.

“Thank you, glad you did. You’re welcomed to visit the dance club if you ever want to learn.” Aphe beckoned.

“I’d be happy to watch, not so sure about learning....”

Tamaki who was eavesdropping their conversation blushed at his own thoughts about Haruhi dancing. It’s too lewd for his pure mind to comprehend, alas he would stop her from joining and the twins would be mad at him for being such a pussy. Kyouya on the other hand realized he was typing gibberish, nonsensical stuff just to take his mind off and stay calm, suddenly being the 17 years old teenager he is. Glad the twins weren’t around anymore to point that out. He closed his laptop and told the rest he’s leaving early due to an unfinished business. 

"I'll see you guys tomorrow." He spoke coldly.  

“Okay, take care Kyouya. See you.” The goddess type smiled, it’s that particular eye smile again.

“....Goodbye, Aphrodite.” Kyouya muttered, forcing the words out of his mouth without looking at her. On his way back in the Ootori limousine, Kyouya tried to gather himself again and continued to wonder about his thoughts. He felt pissed of some sort and he would never let the twins challenge her in such a manner again, let alone thanking them.  
  
The Ootori boy felt as if he wanted to lock her up and keep her somewhere safe where she could dance and the audience would've consisted of only him. But Kyouya knew that thought was irrational, it was his agitation acting up and he would be free of those thoughts sometime later. He didn't realize the repercussions of infatuation, nor if it's love but he knew one day if he is hurt by her absence, that means he has fallen in love. Aphrodite had thought of the same thing.

“What’s the matter, master Kyouya?” Tachibana politely asked. “Anything I can help?”

“I think I’m coming down with a serious illness.” Kyouya groaned in sheer pettiness.

“Try consulting your brother about it. A doctor would know what to do.” 

“No. It’s about this girl." Kyouya hissed. "I’m losing my mind and it takes so much to pull myself together.”

Tachibana remembered that one particular girl who stepped into the Ootori household alongside Tamaki. He smiled to himself while looking at the sullen and agitated young master. A huge part of him wanted to break the news but he held back. An intelligent boy would figure it out soon enough.

“It’s alright young master. Sooner or later, you’ll figure it out.”

Hearing his loyal bodyguard reassuring his thoughts, Kyouya sat still, arms and legs crossed and smiled to himself. His agitation faded as his eyes were fixed at the Ootori mansion. It's time to rest.  


	8. The Heartbreaker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone falls in love at first sight with Kyouya.

Ootori Kyouya has never taken much interest in girls or romance for that matter. Money is anthem of success, according to him and Lana Del Rey. To put it simply other than Haruhi, a special student whom he respects aka his best friend's love interest, the other ladies seemed rather bland and tasteless. Hani would notice that Kyouya treats Haruhi above all the girl colleagues he met but he wouldn't acknowledge those feelings.

The Ootori boy's cool persona is immaculate. He could easily impress girls with his intelligence, being a person with a charming nature. His smile alone looks ever so soft, even if it's a corporate smile. That smile enabled him to escape a lot of unfavorable situations. Alas, Kyouya could swiftly excuse himself from getting romantically involved too if ever someone inquired about his love life.

The girls would watch him from afar to admire his charisma. Only the brave ones would come up to him and confess their love, which would end in vain. He would politely decline, admit that he is not interested and leave without saying a word.

Kyouya is the  _heartbreaker_.

Naturally, some of the boys do look at him as a role model and they would definitely confess to liking him, given certain circumstances. So they would invite him to gatherings, outings, anything that would be in their benefit and his. Mutual benefits, leeching off each other's family reputation is considered as a norm to him. Alas the Ootori boy has never considered his colleagues as friends.

Kyouya had refused the idea of genuine friendships. There is no time for that, especially for someone like him. He was all alone in this world, boredom filled his mind ceaselessly despite the mountain of literature he read, or pictures he had painted in his spare time. Emptiness filled his heart, that was caged in a dungeon built by his own father. Until he met Tamaki.

As much as Tamaki gets Kyouya riled up for the most absurd and selfish reasons, destroying his tact altogether— he would swore that he loved that particular blonde, and metaphorically Kyouya would give up his life if it's to make a dying Suoh Tamaki be able to smile again.

Kyouya always had a thing for people who managed to see past his facade. He knew that.

Haruhi would sometimes ask if he likes any of their guests, especially his regulars. Kyouya would flatly answer no. His host persona is strictly business, getting his regulars to fall hook line and sinker to cash in more money is a given. The Ootori son always gets what he wants.

"I don't feel like I have to like girls." Kyouya admitted to his confidante, Kaoru.

"That's not news to all of us I suppose. Your main motivation is either money or Tamaki senpai. The latter serves more of an annoyance unfortunately." Kaoru smirked. Sometimes he would randomly visit his senpai without Hikaru tagging along. They would have in depth conversations without the other members knowing.

It was then Kyouya received a news from his homeroom teacher that the elite class will have a new female student. He took a mental note of that as the teacher explained the details. Half Greek half Japanese & Korean due to the mother. Used to be in an European girls boarding school (St Catherine) before transferring to Ouran as a high school student. Her name is Aphrodite (Greek) Seung Hee (Korean) Ayaka (Japanese) Ash. An only child. Her father is a reputable scientist, her mother is the same except she also does modeling jobs, being half Japanese and half Korean somewhat akin to Mizuhara Kiko.

A hafu and an only child. It reminded him of Tamaki as his full name is a mouthful too.

Kyouya checked her records and turns out the family of scientists had done certain transactions, another business partner with the Ootori medical group. He talked about it with his father during dinner. Yoshio attested to it, only asked his son to just keep an eye out for anything. Get along well with her as colleagues is a given.

It was sometime after when he realized she had her own dance practice videos online, most probably a girls school activity and that a lot of her audience followed her on social medias.

He used to have the impression of students coming from girls school would be prim and proper, morally uptight, fair maidens but after coming across the Lobelia Girls Academy students, things really aren't as marketed outside the school grounds. The girls can be a handful and an annoyance to be reckoned with.

The raven haired boy sighed, seeing a slight glare on his expensive glasses and he took it off, wiping it with a cloth. Kyouya was browsing through tons of paperwork he ought to do for being the class representative and vice president of the host club. Not to mention he has homework and revision for 6 subjects.

"Kyouya, you should take a rest. Come here and I'll give you a hug." Fuyumi softly spoke as she sat in front of him. To her, and her mother, Kyouya will always be the baby boy.

"I'm fine, don't worry." He retorted coldly. "Don't you have anything better to do, sis."

The sister smiled, she scooted closer to him and moved his head to her lap. She ran her fingers against his black locks and stared into his deep, enchanting grey eyes.

"You haven't ate." Fuyumi noticed.

"Thought I'd get some work done and then I'll eat." Kyouya smiled, albeit weakly.

"Promise me you will, baby boy."

"I told you to stop calling me that."

She chuckled.

"You know I won't. How's your friends? Tamaki? And that girl, Aphe?"

Kyouya got up and grabbed his glasses.

"They're doing fine. Exams are coming up and then we'll be going to the beach under one of our Ootori resorts."

Somehow while he did his work, Kyouya remembered the things he said to her just to toy with her emotions, if that's possible. All the clownery he had imposed on her even though she doesn't like boys, at least not romantically. These days he could feel the control he had is starting to fade away. The cool type, or the egoist lord. The goddess type would just grin, in that eye smile he is infatuated with and proceeded to say,

"I know you don't mean it that way." or "You have a good heart."

He stopped writing for a second.

"If you do clownery, the clown always bites back." He remembered the same girl, the clowness herself confessed to that particular statement.

Kyouya shook his head and rolled his eyes at himself. He realized he and Aphe are in fact clowns, and none of them are going to realize how they truly feel for each other before it's too late. Even so, he wanted to witness her true self. Romance doesn't matter. Kyouya would like to see Aphrodite, or Ayaka her japanese name, unhinged. Also questions about the lab and a lot more revelations to come.

Perhaps it's time to be the heartbreaker once more.


	9. Host Club Beach Vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Major mishaps happen to both Haruhi and Aphe, as they struggle to learn more about themselves.

"A beach episode it is." Aphrodite thought to herself as she packed her clothes. Not much stuff to bring since they'll only travel during the weekends and it's back to school again after. Apparently Tamaki had decided on a beach vacation for the special guests who frequently attend the host club. The host club membership package isn't just for show. Aphe's friends, Chise and Arisa attended as well except for Athena since she wasn't free. They arrived around 8 am at the resort, and all the members were checking out the site.

"This entire resort is owned by the Ootori group as well." Kyouya explained casually as they walked through the vast hallway; the petty rich boy persona jumped out. Aphe looked around and checked out the rooms. The resort is overall impressive, even to her own standards. The guests had to stay in another mansion just 2km away from theirs, that was fancier and had more facilities.

"At this point nothing isn't owned by the Ootori group." Haruhi remarked sarcastically.

"They bought our souls too hence we're now slaves in the host club." Aphe continued.

"Kiss kiss pay your debts, slaves." Kyouya chided.

"I'd like a room with a sea view, a perfect scene for the prince to wake up in the morning while having my maid Haruhi serving me breakfast.....in bed!" Tamaki chirped happily as Haruhi rolled up her sleeves motioning to beat him up.

The twins instantly got jealous and pulled the tomboy to their side. "No! Haruhi will be serving US breakfast tomorrow morning!" Tamaki seethed in anger as he chased the two downstairs.

"Have you decided on yours yet, Ayaka? Or you can't decide because you'd like to share a room with me." Kyouya whispered to the unsuspecting Greek girl.

Aphe narrowed her eyes. "I'd like one room upstairs all to myself. Also it's been forever since someone called me Ayaka."

"Your japanese name is not bad either." He adjusted his glasses while writing on his notepad. "Ootori Ayaka."

The heartbreaker switch was flipped on that day. Kyouya was determined to dig up more secrets during this short vacation, and the third Ootori son always gets what he wants. The girl shrieked, realizing the implication he just made. "Call me Aphe!"

Kyouya let out a low chuckle and left to his bedroom alone. He shut the doors and placed his bag on a sofa. He realized it's been a while since he actually felt excited for a trip, although being the laziest motivated guy he is, nobody knows how he truly felt. He rolled his eyes at the thought of being excited, yawned and took a nap.

It was evening and most of the hosts were in their bathing suits including the guests. Mori and Hani accompanied them at the volleyball pitch, Tamaki and his loyal customers were sunbathing and chatting the day away. Haruhi was in a good mood since this is a hosting trip, she doesn't have to wear revealing suits and wore a simple shirt with trunks instead. The twins were enjoying themselves with a tag team game with the goddess type and Renge.

Kyouya was quietly re-reading his favourite novel No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai. He sat alone on a chair, with a glass of cocktail at the side. The Ootori boy observed all of the members and somehow fixated his gaze on his daughter. She was clearly enjoying the game. Aphrodite loves all sorts of games, especially when it comes to playing with her customer's feelings. The goddess Sappho should think twice before worshiping her, but alas, like the myth, customers wouldn't mind if it's Aphrodite.

The purple haired girl paused for a while and took a breather. Her bathing suit, a dark blue monokini was slightly drenched by the sea water. Her eyes wandered around the beach, observing the guests who were enjoying themselves and then she noticed a certain raven haired boy who looked as pale as a ghost, peacefully reading his book in silence. It was then she slowly realized that he truly is a petty rich boy, crossing his legs, residing in his own world and sitting on his iron throne. She would want to be the dragon who burns the throne and leave him dead. Except that the dragon would mourn for him but not her.

 _Kyouya looks pretty docile when he's busy and his mouth sewn shut._ She thought to herself.

All of a sudden he closed his book and smiled sardonically at her.

"Enjoying your view, princess?"

Aphrodite rolled her eyes and sighed. There he goes again rolling his tongue, uttering heavy sarcastic remarks. Just another typical day to spend with the shadow king. But somehow, seeing Kyouya being himself— she felt the urge to laugh unironically, and she did. Her laugh sounded like a child, with an almost baby faced grin to it, complete with the eye smile he had always loved. Her laugh instantly removed the smirk on Kyouya's face. The Ootori boy looked at her, pupils slightly dilated before he pulled himself together and closed his eyes. It's that foreign feeling again, pulling his feet to the ground. He couldn't feel his heart, nor semblance for a split second. The heartbreaker just wants to play around with the girl. That's it. It shouldn't be the other way around. Seeing how Kyouya went back to reading his book, Aphe blissfully walked away and entertained her guests.

It was almost sundown, the skies were beautifully painted in an orange-violet hue. A major incident happened when Haruhi tried to protect her guests from being harassed by random men. She almost got herself into serious trouble but the other hosts came to her rescue, thankfully. Aphrodite had kicked one of the guys with full force as he stumbled down and scurried off with his friends. The twins followed suit with beating them up before they left.

"That was impressive, didn't know you could fight." Kaoru muttered, looking at Aphe.

"I won't let anyone hurt any of the host club members, even if it means to break a bone for it." She replied.

"True that." Kaoru smiled.

"I'll take her to the resort." Tamaki spoke, frowning. In his arms Haruhi remained unconscious for a while before she regained her consciousness and stepped down.

"I'm fine on my own, senpai." She muttered.

His face turned dark. "Are you one of those students specialized in martial arts? If you're not then why did you possibly think a girl like you can take on those guys, alone?"

"My guests were harassed, I don't think I have the time to think about that. Still, I did not do anything wrong." Haruhi retorted, taking a firm stand.

"Do whatever you want then. But I won't talk to you until you realize your blunder." The blonde warned as he left, seething mad. The members watched him walking away in disappointment. Aphe held the soaked girl on her shoulders and excused themselves as they went to their rooms to change.

"Why is he so damn mad for my actions? I just don't get it." The tomboy grunted.

"He's worried about you. At least that's what I think." Aphrodite replied as she took a towel.

"But still, he's trying to impose a silent treatment on me." Haruhi sighed. "I don't think I want to come down for dinner."

"It's okay, just join them with me, I think Tamaki will talk to you." Aphe smiled.

The mood was irrevocably tense, especially with the dark clouds hanging on the sky that night. It was going to rain sooner or later. One good thing for the twins that night was Haruhi wearing an adorable pink nightdress, it seems her father repacked her suitcase and replaced them with girly clothes. Even Aphe had smiled at the beautiful sight. Hers was just a white crop top with khaki shorts. Haruhi was notably pissed and ate too much crab legs as she threw a couple of sarcastic remarks at the prince. Tamaki immediately lost it and asked his wife to escort him to his room. As the wife, Kyouya excused himself and got up.

Both of them left the table earlier.

Soon after, Haruhi could feel her own heart sinking to the ground, sadness was instilled in her eyes.

"Maybe I should learn karate or something. I can't stand being perceived as weak." The tomboy confessed.

"That's not the issue here. We're all worried about you, especially the lord. He would definitely cry if something bad happened to you, you know." The twins explained.

Hani spoke softly, "You should apologize to him properly, okay?"

"Should I?" Haruhi looked at them and then Aphe. The purple haired girl nodded and smiled.

"I'm sorry guys." She continued, frowning. The twins, Hani, Mori and Aphe hugged her in unison.

After that the tomboy excused herself to the nearest toilet, puking her guts out due to overeating. Aphrodite followed her to the bathroom and saw how sick she was. "Shit, I'll go get a towel and a glass of water. Or you'd like to meet me in my room afterwards?"

"Thank you, Aphe but I'll be fine. I'll see you soon, I need to apologize to Tamaki and Kyouya senpai for making them worry. Where's your room again?"

"The top floor. I'm going to be listening to some music since I brought my speaker. You'll know by the sound." Aphe spoke, frowning. "See you. Take care."

The purple haired girl left and went upstairs, definitely didn't notice that Haruhi entered Kyouya's room, but the bathroom seemed to be near anyway so all is good. Aphrodite closed the doors and placed her speaker on her bedside. She had compiled a mixtape for this short vacation, it was something she liked to do everytime she travels or take time off from school. Even so, knowing how her schedule is packed after the vacation, Aphe had brought her homework along to hopefully complete that night while everyone was fast asleep.

She turned on the music and rested on the bed. The first song that came up was Wild by Troye Sivan. She found herself smiling at how good and fitting the lyrics were for this short getaway. Aphrodite felt that she could do anything as she smiled and laughed alongside the host club members. But her smile faded when she had flashbacks during middle school, when they had a short vacation to the beach, eerily similar to this one except of a girls school. A sweet smile of a particular girl entered her mind; which was Alice Vhalos, who left her life and passed on.

_Leave this blue neighborhood, never knew loving could hurt this good. Oh, and it drives me wild._

The girl had sang the lyrics to herself, trying to forget the memory but to no avail. The rain started to pour heavily, making the dimly lit room look even darker and the ambience became depressing. She got up and sat on the bed, trying to pull herself together and not break down to pieces. Nobody really knew how much she missed her. Not even Athena. It was then she heard a knock at the door.

"Coming, Haruhi." The speaker was still on, as Aphe left the bed with slight tears in her eyes. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Glad you're here, I suppose we can talk—"

Her eyes widened in horror as she was dead wrong. It wasn't Haruhi, it was Kyouya who was in return, surprised to see the girl in front of him with teary eyes and tousled hair.

"Talk about what?" Kyouya inquired in a low tone. "And may I know why are you crying in the middle of the night?"

Aphrodite gasped in astonishment as she had frantically wiped her own tears, turning red in embarrassment as she could feel her heart dropping to the ground. Everything happened within split seconds. She tried her best to pick herself up and act normally.

"It's nothing!" She gulped and stuttered. "Nothing to worry about. Also why are you here? Anything important?"

It was Kyouya's turn to narrow his eyes at her. "I wanted to tell you to go to sleep. Tamaki decided all of us should wake up at 7. Also Haruhi won't be coming, I've asked her to sleep early as well."

The goddess type sighed and rubbed her head. "Ok then. Thanks. Goodnight."

She lowered her gaze and motioned to shut the doors before it was blocked by Kyouya himself.

"I don't think it's appropriate to leave me hanging without any explanation, Aphrodite. Let me know what's bothering you about this trip." He spoke sternly.

"No it's not about the trip, this is about something else." Aphe replied, still looking away.

"Does Haruhi know about this?"

"She doesn't. I wanted to talk vaguely about it but knowing the situation now, I don't think I will. Don't fret about it, the trip is good, your resort is spectacular." She forced herself a half smile on her lips. "Goodnight, Kyouya. See you later."

He stared at her for a while and gave in. There is nothing he could do at that point. The bespectacled boy retracted his hand and slipped them in his pocket.

"Very well. Goodnight, Aphe."

She shut the doors, locked them and dragged her feet towards the bed, still feeling disappointed of her own miscalculation. She turned off the speaker and sighed. There are certain things that can be shared within a trusted group of friends, but not everything. That was her only thought that night before getting ready to strip and go to sleep. She heard a familiar voice at the door.

"I'll confront you about this matter when the trip ends. You should know that you can rely on me. I care a lot about you, also the rest as well. Please don't lock yourself up and run away from your problems next time." Kyouya advised.

The girl waited until the sound of his footsteps leaving the hallway disappeared. She quietly placed her head against the pillow, letting the tears stream down her face. Aphe didn't trust herself, let alone somebody else to face her layers of trauma and insanity. She wouldn't let her senior face it as well. Little that the goddess knew downstairs, Tamaki had said something similar to the intimidated Haruhi, although with much more compassion and love, as he wouldn't want Haruhi to face her fears of lightning alone. The trip changed a couple of things between the hosts, even if Aphe had heavily regretted her mishap.


	10. Finding Love In A Broken Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An important chapter telling bits and piece of Aphrodite's baggage. Yes, this bitch has a lot of issues. Also this chapter marks the end of the first arc, the next (11-20) would be the second arc. Things get even more intense and darker, there's a reason for my tags tbh.

The 10 rules of love were eventually established in the host club, it was printed and framed on the walls of music room 3. Tamaki loved it so much, he would reckon that it's a brilliant idea coming from the goddess of love herself. He believed that romance is the epitome of high school experience and needs to be cherished no matter what. Truth be told, a lot of the students would agree with him as well.

"If I knew you have written these since the beginning, it would be on the first page of our host club guestbook to attract more customers." Tamaki commented, looking at Aphe. She smiled.

"It took me years of completing junior/middle school to write it. Even then, I'm not so sure if it's suitable for high school."

"I suppose it's up to us to figure it out in due time." Haruhi shrugged and smiled. Tamaki nodded in unison.

"It must've took a lot of experience for you to write this." The twins sneered as they read the rules. The shadow king remained silent and observed the club members from afar.

"Yeah." Aphe agreed, her smile suddenly became lusterless and her expression turned into a distant gaze, looking past the rules and towards the window instead.

According to Athena, Aphrodite always had a million yards gaze ahead of her. Some would rephrase as a thousand yard stare. It is often described as a blank stare possessed by soldiers with a traumatic experience, emotionally detached from their surroundings. Aphe's dissociative disorder had came across eventually.

Of course, she didn't make the rules on her own. Sometimes she would talk it out with the girls she dated, they would help, according to some of their perspectives. Close friends back then would contribute as well. It's the cumulative experience and anecdotes from her and everyone she had met in the previous boarding school.

Aphe could feel herself dissociating into another identity, which was her childlike self upon remembering past events. She would giggle and run to her beloved senior; just one look and Athena would know this seemingly innocent child requires extra attention. She excused herself in front of Hani and Mori senpai, as they looked at each other and agreed. At this point, the secret stays between the three of the seniors of the host club. Athena, Haninozuka and Morinozuka.

"You will always be my baby girl Aphe." Athena spoke as she held the cheerful purple haired girl in her arms. The short haired senior could feel a pair of eyes were observing her. She knew it would always be Ootori Kyouya, as it was his job to investigate everything about the club members.

The vice president had contemplated on questioning his two upperclassmen, as he had an inkling that they know better since they spent more time with Athena than himself. Alas with the 3 of them being classmates, it makes more sense that they had exchanged important details behind a young Ootori's back. A fact about Athena is that she would always manage to speak sparsely of herself but fooling everyone else that they knew her well. Kyouya had analyzed her personality from the start. Her intellect and wisdom are at par as Haninozuka senpai himself. They would always compete with each other academically in class, according to Kyouya's records.

Despite her childlike alter that was fronting at that time, Aphrodite was clearly aware of her surroundings. Her true self would make sure nothing too odd would come down during host club hours. It's just 3 hours at best anyway, wouldn't be too much of a feat to pull it off.

She could still remember being so utterly dejected and vulnerable whenever past relationships didn't work. Sure she didn't look the part due to her strict upbringing, but inside she was unbelievably shattered. Aphrodite remembers each one of the people she had been with, although the most prominent memory would still be of Alice Vhalos.

 

 

_Live fast, die young, my lovely Aphrodite._

 

 

Aphrodite never believed in the concept of soulmates, until she met her. It has been known to her too that no one ends up marrying their soulmate. Hence a tragedy had befallen the two in middle school, that was erased in their records and remained untraceable. She thought about how much time she has left before the Ootori boy would unravel everything about her past, perhaps not for long now. The Greek girl had wished for her high school years would end in a jiffy so that not much is known about her.

 

* * *

 

Everyone in the host club has their own adversities to overcome on their own. The struggles these children have yet to face later in their lives is no easy feat. Even Haruhi, a commoner without a prestigious background will eventually learn how developing friendships and relying on others would make her grow as a person.

"I would pray to my mother above and thanking her for a peculiar group of friends I have never imagined to meet in Ouran." The brown haired girl spoke casually, lying down on a pristine patch of grass within the vast school grounds. The host club members were checking out the park and thinking whether they should do a tea party next.

"As chaotic as it might be, the host club has helped me in several ways and that really caught me by surprise." Haruhi continued.

Aphrodite who was lying down comfortably beside the commoner, turned to the girl and smiled. 

"I suppose you have lived your entire life relying on your own strength and wits. You are amazing Haruhi."

"I could say the same for yourself, Aphe. I heard that you're an only child and you didn't have a childhood, despite not being a commoner." Haruhi spoke. "It reminds me of Tamaki senpai, but in different circumstances. He dedicated his entire childhood to take care of his severely ill mother. I believe the disease is called SLE. Were your parents ill as well?"

The goddess type gazed at the blue sky and reached out her hand towards the clouds.

"I don't know how it feels like to have a functioning family, nor a true mother or father. I have known that I'm a genetically engineered child. Also I did spent a lot of my childhood in the lab due to a couple of reasons." Aphe replied calmly. She continued,

"I've heard of the ladies in this school have been to a lot of dance parties, masquerade balls etc. I have never attended one until I joined the host club."

The goddess type pointed towards a cloud.

"That one looks like a bunny."

Haruhi who was staring intuitively at the goddess type for quite a while, closed her eyes and smiled. She let out a soft chuckle.

"It does. A cute and a fluffy white bunny. It looks just like you."

Tamaki who was watching the two from afar, sobbed in happiness. "My dream of wanting Haruhi to have a female friend has been answered by the gods."

"Don't forget to thank us, milord. We were the ones who introduced Aphe to the host club." The twins chuckled evilly. Tamaki cringed in annoyance.

"Let's hope Haruhi doesn't end up dating Aphrodite since gender doesn't matter between the two." Kyouya remarked, adjusting his glasses. "Remember, the two girls attract girls in our host club."

"Well I hope not!!!" Tamaki shrieked. "Aphe knows Haruhi is my daughter! Plus she would know that she's your daughter, Kyouya!"

"About the latter, we'll see." Kyouya shrugged, forming a smile and continued observing the two.

"Suddenly I don't feel so good, and it's not Thanos." Haruhi cringed, looking at the host club members from a distance. "My intuition tells me they're talking smack about us."

"Thanos should just snap all of them at once out of existence." Aphe sighed and rolled over before getting up.

"One more thing though." Haruhi spoke, her crystal clear brown eyes looking straight at Aphrodite. The tall girl returned the stare and waited for a response.

"I think whatever you're facing right now, you will overcome it as well, Aphe. There's always a reason why you belong here with the rest of us." She stated, wisely.

Aphe smiled, her eyes forming into two adorable crescents and took out her hand. Haruhi has always been intuitive, observant and spot on with her remarks.

"Who knows. Come what may."

Haruhi took her hand and they stood up, walking towards the other host club members. The wall that separated her from Aphe has been broken. To Haruhi, there's always a barrier, a wall she has to surpass to be closer to the host club members, and she did with Aphe on that day. The goddess have let her into her heart.

Kyouya who was eavesdropping for quite some time, realized there is more to Aphrodite's records, erratic behaviors and dissociation— and he was determined to dig them up one by one. Perhaps getting in touch with Dr Alex would be a great start.


	11. A Commoner's Experience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise visit at Haruhi's apartment meets an extremely dark outcome.

"I had many lovers in the past. I loved them as much as they loved me. But I stopped dating around when I met Athena. She changed my perspective of life." Aphrodite explained, as she was having one of those conversations with the shadow king during host club hours. Athena was busy having her tea time with her classmates Hani and Mori.

Kyouya looked at her with one hand resting under his chin, smirking.

"I think you would learn a lot more, provided you're open to a lot of different opportunities." The bespectacled boy spoke.

"Have you ever loved someone so much that it hurts?" Aphrodite asked Kyouya, suddenly whispering as if she was about to sell drugs. Her magenta eyes stared deep into his dark grey orbs.

He smiled, slightly noticing her lower retainers as her mouth hung slightly agape. "I don't have an answer for that."

"It's good if you don't." She raised a finger at him innocently. "This kind of love is insidious. It disturbs you when you're awake, and haunts you when you're asleep." The goddess type continued, averting her eyes to the window as the rain poured heavily upon the vast school grounds.

Kyouya stared at her intuitively. He knew the Greek girl didn't receive enough parental love and care to know how a nurturing love feels like. She had spent her whole life either in the lab or boarding school. A curious child like her would want to gather enough experience to know what she wants in the end.

But it's not something he could aptly describe, nor portray to the goddess of love. Kyouya wasn't even sure about his feelings, or if he has any. He looks at her a lot when she's not paying attention. He realized her eyelashes were long, her lips were luscious and her retainers were sometimes transparent, other times pink. Sometimes she likes to pout while talking to herself, trapped in her own world. Speaking of which, he had noticed how she feels different today. The air around her felt lighter, she was a bit more outspoken, childish even and spent more time with Hani senpai talking about toys.

The twins were chatting at the back, gossiping about their senpai who was in a trance. Aphrodite was thinking about the school she missed back in Greece. But then being in the host club would take her mind off a lot of things, especially the lab tests and checkups she ought to attend with Dr Alex.

"I have an idea for the weekend. How about all of us visit Haruhi's house?" Tamaki suggested, after being bored out of his mind. Haruhi wasn't around that day as she had to help her dad and his part time job.

The twins quickly agreed to the lord's decision, so did Mori and Hani. Kyouya wrote a thing or two in his notebook and cross checked Haruhi's address. Aphe smiled in delight.

"Why not!" She cheered along with the French boy. All of them were going to surprise Haruhi at her place during the weekend, in which she would despise, freak out and oppose the idea if she knew.

"Also, does anyone know when is Haruhi's birthday?" Aphe asked. "I think you guys would know."

"February 4th!" The twins answered in split second.

Tamaki's eyes widened in disappointment as he had forgotten the date. He sobbed as Aphe patted his shoulder and frowned.

"She turned 15 a couple of months ago." Kyouya commented. "You're 15 as well right, Aphe?" She nodded enthusiastically.

"Eh?!! We thought she's 16!" The twins questioned. "But we didn't call her senpai because she refused it from the start. Now we know."

"Well in my household I am 16. We follow the korean age, but I suppose in school records and american system I would be 15." Aphe explained. "The korean age is calculated right after you were born, so you should add a year to your age if you guys wanna know yours."

"I would be 17 then, and Kyouya is 18 in korean age." Tamaki chirped.

"I feel old." Kyouya narrowed his eyes.

It was Aphe's turn to be surprised. "Kyouya is 17? I didn't know!" She gasped. "Almost two years older than me."

"You should call him Kyouya-senpai, Aphe. Don't be rude." Kaoru remarked as Hikaru giggled.

"That feels weird since we're in the same class.... but ok. Kyouya-senpai it is. Hello senpai." The goddess type sighed. Kyouya patted her head and looked into her eyes.

"Since you're my daughter, you're excused from calling me that. Don't fret about it."

The goddess type cheered and winked at him like a little child. Truly, her alter that was fronting that day was probably a 14 year old child, if not 12. Kyouya immediately took notes of her peculiar behavior.  
  


 

* * *

  
  


"I'll pick you up." Kyouya phoned the goddess type while waiting for one of his bodyguards. "Better to avoid too much cars in a relatively small neighborhood."

"Ok." Soon they were both inside a black limo with the Ootori emblem in front of the car.

"Greetings, young lady." Tachibana spoke upon seeing the purple haired girl.

"Hello there Mr Tachibana. Good morning." Aphe smiled and waved back. Kyouya who was sitting cross-legged beside the window, smiled a bit at the interaction.

She sat across him quietly and adjusted her knee-length skirt.

"How are you feeling today?" Kyouya asked, observing the girl.

She blinked. "I'm feeling fine. Thank you for asking."

"You weren't yourself yesterday." He commented, as he took out a book to read while the car is moving.

Aphe didn't respond. Somehow her mouth and thoughts were sewn shut, and she was nowhere near able to express anything. She leaned back at the luxurious seat, crossed her arms and closed her eyes.

 

_Avoidance._

 

The last thing Aphrodite saw before she closed her eyes was Kyouya's book. No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai. Somehow she made a mental note to read it. Soon all of them arrived at Haruhi's apartment, with people flocking the area due to the flashy black limousines that were present. Tamaki was agitated at the fact that they were attracting too much attention and Haruhi would notice in the end. Of course, the girl who happened to check out the commotion had to be Haruhi.

"Wha— guys.... what are you doing here, jesus christ." Haruhi sighed in disappointment.

"We're just visiting!!" Tamaki laughed awkwardly. "Checking out if you're doing fine at your place!! It seems to be small and cramped though..." His smile turned upside down and suddenly frowned, thinking of Haruhi's miserable life.

"Lord, grant me the patience so that I don't freak out and ask them to go back this instance." She whispered to herself before looking at Kyouya. "Kyouya-senpai, next time please do inform me if you guys are coming to visit."

He shrugged. "If I tell you, you wouldn't let us. This is the only way."

"Urgh...." The tomboy cringed. It was then she noticed Aphe was standing right beside the twins. "Hey there, Aphe. I suppose you got dragged as well."

"I came here on my own accord." Aphrodite chuckled and ran towards the tomboy. "Please escort us in." She grinned.

"Very well. I hope you guys can keep your mouths shut and don't make inappropriate comments." Haruhi sighed, walking towards the door and the rest followed suit.

As soon as they entered Haruhi's humble abode, the twins started commenting on everything, Tamaki yelled at them for that but continued to do the same without him noticing. Haruhi shook her head. Kyouya immediately checked out the books she had kept since elementary school. Aphrodite was staring at the walls, ceiling, tatami floor and then proceeded to check out the books as well.

"I'll make you guys a drink so that at least some of you can shut up." Haruhi spoke nonchalantly and walked to the kitchen.

Aphe was fascinated by the collection of old and rare books. "I love the sight and smell of decades old literature. This is amazing, truly."

Kyouya noticed how she did not make comments on how unusual the standard japanese commoner apartment was. "That aside, are you not perturbed by the condition of poverty, Aphrodite?" The petty rich boy persona in Kyouya jumped out again.

"It's still a home. A humble one at that. I wouldn't mind coming here for sleepovers if Haruhi doesn't mind." Aphe crouched down and took out a photo album, curiously inspected the pics. Eventually she sat down, her tall figure sprawled across the corner of the room, as she flipped through Haruhi's childhood photos.

She muttered, "Sometimes a mansion can look like heaven but in reality, it's a living hell."

"The history behind it can turn a mansion with a laboratory, a living hell. I'm aware because I have consulted your guardian about it." Kyouya explained, his expression remained stoic. Aphe shot a glare at him.

"That's impossible. How did you do that?"

"After the 50th trial with 5 phone lines and a couple of emails." He explained, smiling sardonically. "I knew he would pick up."

Aphe froze in her position. "It seems even the mighty Dr Alex that I know can't defeat an Ootori. The laws of the universe seems to bend for you guys."

"An Ootori always gets what he desires." Kyouya winked sardonically, almost copying the way she does to the guests. The purple haired girl noticed his shade and shook her head in embarrassment. He continued,

"But alas, I have offered him a good proposal. Say if anything happens, you are eligible to be treated under the Ootori hospital, be it physical or mental health. Dr Alex must not worry. As a trade, I asked for your records. You have a chronic dissociative disorder, Aphe."

 _The day has come for me to be horribly exposed like this._  Aphrodite hid half of her face with one hand. Her palms were sweaty, knees shaking even though she was already sitting down and she couldn't look him in eye anymore. She excused herself and went to the bathroom to calm down and wash her face. Aphe locked the door. Tamaki and Haruhi went to buy some groceries together, and the twins followed suit. Mori and Hani were nowhere to be found. It was a normal day for most of the host club members, except for her. She had cursed her whole existence in the bathroom.

As soon as the Greek girl turned off the tap, what she had witnessed at the mirror was ghastly. It revealed a different side of her, perhaps a younger one but with her head crushed at the side and blood dripping from head to toe. Beside the horribly distorted image of a living dead, there was another girl hugging her as she whispered,

 

 

_"I want to see you again."_

 

 

Aphe let out a bone-chilling scream, madness took over her as her fingers dug violently into her hair and the sides of her face. The last thing she remembered before passing out was a loud bang at the door, Kyouya's loud and distinctive yelling, calling out her name countless times but to no avail.

Her whole world turned black. As black as the true nature of her heart.


	12. Unhinged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyouya confronts the goddess type, calling her out for her own selfishness while eating his heart out. Extreme angst ahead.

14 years old. She would open her eyes and witness the familiar white walls and ceiling of a laboratory. There were whispers inside and outside of her head, she couldn’t distinguish the source. The girl had heard something about her scientist parents were developing and modifying her to be the perfect successor despite being the only daughter. Other prestigious families would consider marrying her off to a son of a wealthy conglomerate but so far her mother’s wishes are different. 

This procedure is common. She had wires all over her chest and head. This is to achieve perfection at all costs. Although it would be a lie and unnecessary for her to be good at a lot of things at once but in certain things, she had to.

White is the colour of her world. The ceiling, walls, medical and scientific equipments, lab coats, Dr Alex. He was the only doctor with a charming smile as he always knew what to say to make a child feel better. Aphrodite had trusted in this man ever since.

But she doesn’t trust anyone else to handle this particular information. Having this disorder while striving to accomplish a lot of things as a future successor is quite an impossible feat. Nobody would want to befriend a nutcase.

Despite everything, she still had lovers in the past. They did not know the severity of her troubles, and her family background. In difficult times they helped the goddess type to fight and develop her own perseverance, until she met her previous soulmate. Alice left her not in the pretense of a break up, but due to the fact that her family would wed her off to some other rich boy due to bankruptcy; and the poor girl committed suicide, leaving a note only for Aphrodite. The note was destroyed right after it was found by the goddess type.

 

 

 

_“We will meet again. I will always wait for you.”_

 

 

_“My dearest Aphrodite.”_

 

 

  

* * *

 

 

The purple haired girl heard faint whispers upon regaining consciousness. Some of them were loud and some rather hushed. She could recognize a distinctive voice belonged to Dr Alex, as she’s used to it after all these years. Aphrodite witnessed a familiar white ceiling, a small infirmary located inside the mansion. She blinked for a while before trying to process the people who were in the room. All the hosts were around, naturally. Aphe couldn’t find a reason nor energy to be defensive anymore.

“You’re awake. I’m so glad to see you again.” Haruhi immediately rushed to the bed and wiped her tears.

“Aphrodite, my dear. Welcome back. Your friends are very concerned about you.” Dr Alex spoke softly. “This is a first. No one else dared to barge in senselessly into the mansion except your new friends here. Radical, really.”

Aphe managed to force a weak smile on her lips. Dr Alex should’ve seen how erratic they are during host club hours.

She realized this new group of friends are relentless, temperamental, radical and completely out of the norm. Pulling her out of her own world, dragging her feet towards the music room and even proceeded to surprise Dr Alex at the end of the day. Eventually Dr Alex left to continue his work at the lab, and told Aphe he would return once he’s done.

Tamaki had wished her to get well soon, his face laced with concern. The twins, Hani and Mori brought flowers and fruits. Kyouya leaned against the wall and observed the situation in silence. He seemed to be in a daze while concealing his emotions.

“Thank you for visiting, everyone. I appreciate it a lot. This is a battle I can’t put into words. But someday, I will explain everything.” Aphe spoke. “Please don’t worry too much about me. I’ll be attending school as usual.”

“That particular day won’t come if it’s from you, Aphrodite.” Kyouya hissed. He snapped from his trance, his mood completely rotten and a mess. 

“Kyou-chan, this is not the time.” Hani frowned, trying to calm him down. Haruhi gasped.

“Kyouya, I know you’re exhausted but please calm down.” Tamaki consoled but to no avail. His bff shot a glare at him and continued to do so towards Aphe as well.

“You like to run your hypocritical mouth as if everything is fine. Did you really think none of us, especially me wouldn’t find out what’s bothering you? Hani and Mori senpai have been discussing about it with Athena ages ago, and you were oblivious to it.” Kyouya seethed in anger and frustration.

“You’re calling me hypocritical? Who’s great idea it is to dig up my records, even go as far as forcing details out of Dr Alex? It has to be you out of ALL the goddamn people in my life!” Aphrodite got up immediately and shouted, taking offense. She was having none of it especially after waking up from a debilitating mental condition.

“Wait what— Kyouya-senpai did that?” Haruhi questioned as she held the purple haired girl back by hugging her.

“I’m sorry Aphe but the tables have turned. You need to apologize to Kyouya-senpai.” She continued.

Tamaki immediately recalled the incident from the beach vacation and nodded in agreement.

“I’m through with this. No discussion shall be enough to teach you a lesson.” Kyouya immediately phoned his butler and stormed off, never be to seen again for the day.

He slammed the door as loud as he could; the impact almost made the whole room on the verge of collapsing and left the other members shaking in fear. Aphe stood still and froze, unable to process the situation at hand.

“Kyouya.... oh god.” Tamaki whispered before turning to face Aphe.

“I hate to break the news but Kyouya was the one who brought you home.”

“Kyouya-senpai broke down the door with all his might.” Haruhi commented. “His fists are severely bruised, that’s also the reason why he decided to watch you from afar and hide them.”

“Enough. Stop.” The goddess type ordered as she sat back on her bed and rubbed her head. “I’ll apologize to him properly tomorrow. If I can face him that is. Actually, I don’t think I can.”

“I will be with you, Aphe. You must apologize. I haven’t forgotten what you told me before when I had a fallout with Tamaki-senpai.” Haruhi smiled and reached for her hand. Tamaki’s eyes widened in curiosity and agreement.

“But I don’t understand, it hurts to see him lashing out at me. I know that I’ve caused a serious trouble. Kyouya shouldn’t go all the way to bring me here. In fact, he shouldn’t concern himself with my records.” The girl started to shed tears.

“That’s because he cares. Kyouya always does even if he doesn’t admit it.” Tamaki explained and smiled.

“I’m emotionally stunted right now. I’m a mess, Haruhi. I’m really sorry.” Aphe sobbed.

“It’s fine. We’ll see you again at the club tomorrow, okay?” The tomboy reassured.

“Don’t be sad. Apologize properly to Kyou-chan, alright?” Hani senpai smiled. “Get a lot of rest first.”

The goddess type looked at everyone and nodded before falling asleep. She didn’t have any dreams that night. Not even a flashback. But she woke up the next day with a heavy heart and somehow feeling numb at the same time. Aphrodite recalled the Ootori boy’s seething anger, and it seemed as if he wouldn’t want to see her at all. Her usual self would beg for her to not go back to the host club, it’s over. Unfortunately, club activities should be resumed no matter what.

* * *

 

The walls of her master bedroom were white. Her eyes suddenly caught on a lavender rose that was placed neatly on a small vase. Aphe couldn’t remember when did she decorated her table as such. Must be her other personalities who did it. A sudden headache entered her mind and she threw the vase across the room, breaking it to pieces before leaving for school. Her Korean maid gasped in response and reported the incident to Dr Alex.

Her devastation increased when she had to pretend she wasn’t in the same class with Kyouya and Tamaki. She tried her best not to look in their direction the whole day and decided to only interact in music room 3. The other hosts were discussing about how to make things better.

“I think it’s best if we leave them alone. Give them some space.” Haruhi suggested to the host club king.  

Tamaki gulped. “I’m nervous and anxious right now, my daughter. I swear whenever I tried to lighten up Kyouya’s mood he would just glare at me and spew profanities.”

“I can’t even begin to talk about it with Aphe, afraid she would just ghost me. This is even more complicated than I thought.” Haruhi confessed, shuddering.

“Kyouya senpai really fell hook line and sinker, that’s why he’s so pissed.” The twins commented in unison, still lowering their voices. “Meanwhile Aphe is just being her emotionally constipated self. She can’t accept the fact that Kyouya went that far.”

“Well she’s accepting that fact now at least. Let’s leave this room, my children.” Tamaki urged and all of them gradually left the room.

Aphrodite changed into her casual clothes, looked at herself in the mirror and sighed.

_I need to set things straight with him. A sincere apology would do._

She took a deep breath before stepping out and expected Haruhi would be around to support her but no one was there, except Kyouya who was doing his work alone. She cursed, silently.

Kyouya knew what the other members were planning for him, but he let the benefit of the doubt took over. He concentrated on his work, typing away with both of his bruised hands, that was bandaged up here and there by Tachibana. He has long past the point of caring, after all letting her see the damage would make her more inclined to apologize.

Aphe noticed his previously dainty hands, long and slender fingers aren’t perfect anymore. She frowned at the sight, feeling depressed once again. The girl walked towards his desk and sat in front of him, staring straight towards his figure.

“Kyouya.”

The third Ootori son kept his eyes on the screen, refusing to answer.

Aphe sighed.

“I have come to apologize for my actions. I’m truly sorry. You had done so much out of concern for everyone in this club. I shouldn’t question as to why you had to investigate on your own and contact Dr Alex.”

Kyouya closed his laptop and crossed his arms, glancing at the young girl in front of him. His piercing gaze had rendered her speechless and anxious at the same time. Her fight or flight mode was activated but her last strand of conscience managed to pin her down.

“I wasn’t particularly concerned.” He retorted coldly. “I’m simply not pleased with your hypocritical ways of getting people’s hopes up and not fulfilling your promise. I only ask you to do one thing, Aphrodite. You shall be honest with me and the rest of us from now on.”

“Understood.” The girl replied sternly. “I hope we can go back to normal again.”

“Of course.” Kyouya smiled and raised his pen. “Allow me to write down your punishment for the casualties you have caused towards me.”

She shuddered and lowered down her head, eyes closed in fear. Aphe didn’t know what else to respond to his taunt.

Kyouya placed a blank paper in front of her, stood up and immediately pulled her into a tight embrace. Aphe’s eyes widened in astonishment, she couldn’t see his expression, nor he was saying anything at that moment. She could feel his fingers tugging on the back of her shirt, and somehow it made her extremely uncomfortable but she let it pass. They were so close in proximity, she could’ve sworn she could feel his heartbeat pressing against hers. 

“Kyouya.” She slowly returned the embrace. “I’ll be fine. If there’s anything I’d like to ask for assistance, I would go to you first and foremost. You have my word. I won’t run away anymore.”

Kyouya released her from his grip and looked at her once more, lethargy was apparent in his eyes, even in his expression. He couldn't respond. Slowly he had gathered the last ounce of his mental strength to appear composed in front of his colleague.

It suddenly occurred to Aphe that Kyouya has hypotension and perhaps these days it had taken a huge toll on him too. 

“Kyouya, when was the last time you had a proper meal?” Aphe narrowed her eyes.

“Last 2 days.” He quickly adjusted his glasses and walked to his desk.

“You son of a bitch, I’ll make you eat even if I might break a bone!” She screamed in concern while raising a fist.

Kyouya smirked in response. “Now you know how I feel, don’t you? Of course not, you idiot. I had one this morning.”

Aphe sighed in defeat. He patted her head as she sat in silence, contemplating the whole ordeal. Although in truth, Kyouya didn’t manage to stomach anything ever since he left her at the infirmary. He would rather keep that part a secret and continue eating once his work is done.

The rest of the day felt surreal to the Ootori boy. He spent the whole journey home staring at his bruised knuckles, unable to fathom the deed he had done just to pull her out from her own misery. But Kyouya knew what he felt afterwards was just numb. He would recall the previous weekend and the incident that brought out the worst but at the same time the best part of him when it comes to rescuing a dear friend.

It was madness, unhinged. Listening to her blood curdling scream and the door that was unfortunately locked, _of course she'd do that_. _She would lock herself up and dissociate._  The third Ootori son was beyond incensed, frustration, anger took over him and consumed him whole. He decided to break the nonsensical barrier, the poor bathroom door to pieces with his own hands. After some time he kicked, thrashed the lock and door open even when Ranka was frantically screaming for him to stop- Kyouya couldn't hear him. All he could hear after her hellish scream was a repetitive tinnitus followed by a loud thud, and he was right. Aphrodite immediately lost her consciousness, her body sprawled across the bathroom floor, her face pale and lifeless.

Kyouya was reminded of that particular feeling where his heart would shatter into a million pieces; before he would forcibly patch them up afterwards. He knew emptiness would follow suit once she regains her consciousness. 

 

_If this is how it feels like to lose someone you love, I suppose don't want it._

 

 

"Young master."

 

 

Tachibana spoke. He then asked if the young master's hands were alright and Kyouya answered yes. He didn’t want his trusted bodyguard to dote on him like a little child.

 _A child huh._ He thought to himself, remembering Aphe’s childish persona. The girl’s eye smile and hearty laugh filled his thoughts and suddenly it brought back the colours in his life.


	13. The Ootori Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyouya's grim realization hits him at the end. She is truly unlike any other. Alas, Aphe starts to despise people who doubt his potential.

Aphrodite never realized how gossips would spread throughout the school like wildfire until she became a host. She was quietly sitting at her desk, writing in her journal in greek.

People love to talk about the hosts, especially Tamaki being the chairman's son, his face is perfection sculpted by the gods themselves, with a voice as smooth as velvet and Kyouya, the third Ootori son with the most breathtaking visuals, cool persona and superior intellect. The greek goddess being the third, due to her spectacular beauty and irresistible charm, also being intellectually gifted and talented in the arts.

"Did you know, Tamaki is exactly like a prince out of those disney movies? But he's way better because he's real? His charm, charisma, singing voice and pick up lines.... wow, I'm smitten."

"Kyouya is the dark and cool prince I've always wanted! His intellect, visuals with a deep sultry voice— it's to die for tbh. Also he's as a pale as a vampire. That's so attractive."

"He's the third Ootori son right? A shame that he's not the first. Or else he would be the most good looking CEO ever."

"Yeah. He will never inherit his father's company. His brothers would though."

All of a sudden, the purple haired girl stopped writing in her journal. The girls in her class can be rather unsophisticated with their daily gossips, even if the boys they talk about are basically in the same class. But in Ouran, talk is cheap and it's easily forgiven as well. To Tamaki and Kyouya, gossips are a form of host club exposure too. The ladies shall be tempted to try the host club so it's all business.

Aphrodite turned around to face the girls. They were still talking about Kyouya and his brothers. She took a glance at Kyouya and she could've sworn the Ootori boy must be eavesdropping even though he was concentrating on his book. One of the girls noticed Aphe was looking at them.

"Anything wrong? Sorry if we're too loud." The classmate grinned.

The Greek girl pondered for a while and continued, "You were talking about Kyouya not being the successor."

"Yeah, it's unfortunate even if he's smart and he has the looks." Another girl replied.

"I think that's not it. There are circumstances where the youngest can be better than the rest." Aphe remarked nonchalantly. "He can compete and eventually be the successor."

"That's a high level of faith you have right there." One of them commented. "You work with Kyouya in the host club right? I suppose you should check yourself."

Aphrodite blinked. "Huh?"

"Because you might be falling in love!" The girl grinned sinisterly. Her friend giggled and started taunting her with nasty remarks.

She could feel herself splitting for a second, anger took over her and all of a sudden the whole class was in a commotion due to someone getting slapped so hard, she fell off her chair.

"Wait.... what—" Aphe could feel the impact on the dorsum of her hand. The classmate was screaming and crying to her friend. Aphe's memories remain a blur. Her eyes widened in horror.

_What have I done?_

She knew she was dissociating again when Kyouya grabbed her hand and left the class while people talked behind their backs. The Ootori boy brought her to the infirmary and sat down with her as she rested, feeling disappointed of herself.

"I suppose it's time for you reflect on yourself." Kyouya spoke, his tone laced with concern.

"I... I heard them talking and I responded." Aphe stared at the ceiling.

"You responded violently. They were talking about me being the third son. These gossips are cheap and I'm used to it ever since I was 9. I know better to just let them be." Kyouya looked at her, sighing.

"But I believe you weren't yourself when you launched yourself at her all of a sudden. Why is that?" He asked.

"I told them that you could be the successor too. I'm not the type to just sit idly by while people talk smack about my friend." She closed her eyes. "And I lost it when they taunted me. It was a low whisper."

"What was it?" He crossed his arms.

"They thought I was falling in love because I defended you. It was a taunt, a sarcasm at best. But I wasn't gonna have any. These days it's tiring enough to drag myself to school, let alone getting taunts." Aphrodite confessed and rolled her eyes.

"But now I'm scared of myself. Perhaps I do need drugs." She looked at him once more. "I'll report to Dr Alex soon."

Kyouya stared at her for a while, speechless and pondering things before pulling the sheets over her body. He placed his hand on her arm.

"Don't forget to apologize to her. Rest well. I'll handle the rest."

That was the last line he spoke to her before returning back to class. Aphe apologized for the mess she had caused and forced herself to rest. The students especially Tamaki were waiting for him to deliver an explanation.

"As the class president I do not condone any actions of violence. Our classmate is ill and perhaps a couple of taunts riled her up. Rest assured as I've advised her not to be violent next time. She'll apologize to the victim soon." Kyouya looked at the girl who had been slapped, before smiling sardonically. "I suppose you should use your brain before you speak next time."

The girl shuddered in fear, afraid of the shadow lord and ran to her friend.

"Kyouya, that's a pretty harsh comment." Tamaki spoke as the bespectacled boy took a seat. He frowned at the act.

"I couldn't care less." Kyouya replied indifferently as he took out his text book.  
  
  


* * *

  
_  
Kyouya has the look of someone who has been through hell and back._ Aphrodite thought as she sat in a couch in the host club.

_I will never forget the first day I studied him in the host club. A sharp gaze, yet so empty inside._

"Kyouya has been facing all sorts of insults hurled at him due to being the third son. I was oblivious to it before." The purple haired girl commented. She was sitting across the prince and sipping her tea in music room 3.

"He is not fazed by it, Kyouya knows his potential is far greater than his older brothers. After all, he is my wife." Tamaki replied, smiling sheepishly.

"Well those who doubted him are all wrong." She hissed. "If Kyouya had managed to achieve so much during his studies, managing the finances of the host club while maintaining a top spot in class, I believe he will be the heir to the Ootori group." Aphe confessed. "I think the whole club would agree with this. All of us believe in his talent."

"Correct." The prince smiled. "If it were you, would you be a ride or die, the one to give him support until he becomes one in the future?"

Aphrodite looked at Tamaki and flashed him her eye smile. "I would. I am the daughter, I will support him through thick and thin."

Kyouya who was eavesdropping as usual, smiled to himself and resumed his work. Haruhi moved closer to the bespectacled boy.

"Yes, Haruhi-kun?"

"I wish I was there to see what went down. People sure love to talk a lot about you, Kyouya-senpai." Haruhi let out a low chuckle.

"To be honest, she did that due to a taunt. The girls were accusing her of having a thing for me." Kyouya replied nonchalantly.

"Wait what— now that makes more sense." Haruhi gasped before continuing to observe Tamaki and the goddess type randomly playing the piano together. Apparently once in a while Tamaki would help her with her piano skills since she loves playing music as much as he does.

Haruhi smiled.

"But you know, if she doesn't care a lot about you, she wouldn't respond one bit nor raise a hand to a statement that might be.... debatable."

The vice president adjusted his glasses and tried to conceal a smirk that was forming across his face. He took a glance at the goddess type, who was laughing heartily at the prince who deliberately interpreted Chopin's waltz in his own eccentricity. Kyouya's breathing was halted for one second before he nodded.

"That's a very interesting point of view."

Ever since she transferred to Ouran before, Aphe has never talked to him at all. Not until the fateful encounter in the host club room. She wouldn't notice nor take interest in people that she doesn't hold dear. Not ever.  
  
  


* * *

  
_  
"Maintaining the top spot in class is something your brothers have achieved during their high school days. You have to work on a lot more if you want to impress me, Kyouya."_

The Ootori boy stood in the shower, turning on the tap as he recalled those words coming from his father. He felt hollowed out and empty as his anger and frustration are all suppressed, hidden away from his dad. Kyouya would follow his every orders as to not disappoint the Ootori patriarch.

He felt as if he was no longer human.

Kyouya closed his eyes, letting the warm water soak his entire body as he got himself all cleaned up, changed into his bath robe and sat in a couch in his room. There was a glass of water beside it and a couple of vitamins he ought to take due to Yuuchi's advice. Kyouya's eldest brother and sister are the siblings who sometimes would dote on him, since he's the seemingly fragile baby boy in the family. He only appears to look that way when in fact Kyouya would rather not receive that kind of treatment from his own siblings. He believes that he is not weak.

The second son Akito is fairly temperamental, having the classic middle child syndrome with his emotions all over the place and the type to criticize Kyouya a lot more than his own father would. It's also the reason why the bespectacled teenager wouldn't react to mere gossips in school, Akito's insults taught him the harder way and he wouldn't give a damn over time.

Fuyumi noticed how Kyouya has been pushing himself way too much and managing the host club's finance at the same time too. But she believes in his capabilities and firm resolve. She only wishes for Kyouya to be healthier, his borderline tendencies all in control and perhaps one day for him to find his own happiness in another person.

Kyouya took his supplements, groaning in annoyance after. It was then his phone rang, a normal ringtone at that. The only person who has a different ringtone than the rest is the host club's dad.

He noticed it was the goddess type.

"Hello, Ayaka."

"Hey there Kyouya. Sorry if I'm bothering you though, would you be up for a chat? I promise it'll be short." She spoke, her tone raising a bit at the word.

"Sure. I'm not doing anything important right now. You can talk." He replied calmly.

"That's relieving to hear. I just wanted to ask, if this is your last day to live, what would you do?" Aphe asked, seemingly innocent.

Kyouya fell silent for a while. As much as he is very good listener and he loves listening to her peculiar stories, sometimes her questions would make him trip.

"What's this all of a sudden?"

The young girl didn't answer.

"Aphrodite, I implore you to answer me." His voice turned dark, even if he was gritting his teeth and he was starting to have palpitations due to the flashback of her seemingly dead body sprawled across the bathroom.

"You didn't answer the initial question, you know. I was dying to know what would you do if you were in her shoes." The girl sighed, referring to an alter.

"You'll know sooner or later, Kyouya. It seems the Ouran festival is near, there will be a huge revelation coming up and it is not going to be pleasing to the ears."

Kyouya fell silent once again before uttering, "I shall wait for that then."

He continued.

"You may be named after the goddess of love even if you don't act the part. Your experiences are valid, you have a lot of stories to tell. I appreciate that. As for your actions, you defended me even though you don't have to. You caught me by surprise. But you must know that I-" Kyouya paused, trying to filter his thoughts.

"Hm?"

"I will never stop trying to figure you out."

It was then he remembered those indie movies him and Tamaki had watched during sleepovers. Kyouya rolled his eyes whenever a guy is so into a woman who was   
disturbing, her personality is erratic and unfathomable. He couldn't understand how irrational love can be at times. Also falling for a manic pixie dream girl? The worst. Tamaki laughed at his criticisms as Kyouya scooted over to him and leaned on his shoulder.

As the goddess type told him about the stars and constellations that night, Kyouya realized the manic pixie dream girl is her.

_I can't be falling for her._

_This doesn't make sense._

He could feel his heart sinking to the ground for one moment before regaining his composure. He convinced himself that he's doing everything for his own benefit.

_Aphrodite is madness unhinged. Her innocent face doesn't align with her dark erratic stories, her actions are unpredictable, not to mention her dissociative state. A total clown. Her eye smile would make up for everything. She would risk it all for the people she loves and remembers them for life._ _Yet she is the love of my life._

"Nothing makes sense when you're in love." The younger girl spoke on the line, as if she could read his thoughts.

"Pardon?" Kyouya questioned, having goosebumps.

"Nevermind that. I was thinking about a girl in the past. Anyway, I believe we've talked for almost an hour. I wouldn't want you to waste more time on the phone. Good night, Kyouya. See you soon."

"Good night, Aphrodite. Sweet dreams."

The Ootori boy immediately turned off his phone and quickly decided to read the 10 rules of love that was established in the host club. Big mistake when he realized he had all 10.

His first instinct was to throw the file to the floor, but he ended staring at the photocard of her he had placed neatly on a small frame beside his desktop. It appeared as if she was looking back at him and smiling. Kyouya caressed the sides of her hair and where his fingers touched, he felt warm.


	14. The Future Fiance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ultimate twist to this series. A bit disturbing but not too much.

"Dr Alex, would you marry me?" 

The goddess type had a flashback of the times where one of her alters spoke to Dr Alex regarding marriage. She was notably pissed after rejecting yet another arrangement from her parents at that time, even if it's not official. At least not the extent of engagement, but she was having none of it. Aphrodite was 13 and didn't know the heavy implication that comes with her own hypothetical question regarding marriage. 

"Why are you asking me that question, my dear?" Alex replied, smiling gently as he sat down and did his paperwork. He had his glasses on while he's doing his work. 

"I don't want to get married. I want to be free forever." The purple haired girl swung her legs back and forth, while sitting on a white laboratory bed. "But if worst comes to worst, I could marry you since you told me you don't like women. Fair enough. I don't like men."

The white haired man chuckled. "You sure are conniving for a 13 year old girl. What brought this on? Your parents?" 

"As usual." Aphe rolled her eyes.

"Since I am your guardian, I don't reject your proposal. But at the same time I want you to find your own happiness, my dearest Aphrodite. Be it with anyone you want. Life is too short to have a lavender marriage." The doctor commented, tapping his pen on the desk.

"After all, what's a goddess of love doing by fooling herself in that manner?" He questioned, smirking at the not so little girl due to her tall figure.

The young girl pouted and crossed her arms.

"This is a plan B, doctor. No harm done by us getting married, even if our age difference is huge. You look forever young too." She pointed at him and smiled.

"You'll have to be of legal age first." The doctor joked. Of course, being a sensible adult, he wouldn't entertain an underage girl's whimsical ideas. Alexander Lewis, a reputable Russian scientist, would want the girl to find love and happiness on her own accord.

Until this day, he believed she will but not when her own parents have discussed of the possibility turning into a reality. Her parents trust Dr Alex, his intellectual capabilities are beyond the normal person and he has a big heart. They are aware that Alex has a co-worker Zack who is currently his boyfriend. Zack has met Aphe a couple of times and they get along quite well.

"We believe due to Aphrodite's condition, it is in our best interest to arrange both of you to be engaged in the future."

Alex didn't answer at first, but eventually he had to agree. The family didn't have a male successor and no matter what they would have to bring in an outsider to work with Aphe in the future. There is no one else that could be trusted other than the doctor. The thought of pedophilia would come to mind, it would be beyond abhorrent for Aphe to be fated this way but seeing as Dr Alex is notably gay, the parents have weighed the pros more than the cons. The doctor have sworn that his true wish is for the young girl to find her own path and eventually escape her fate. She will perhaps, due to her involvement with the host club.

Although as of now, Dr Alexander Lewis is Aphrodite's future fiance. They did not exchange rings, the arrangement is inked in black and white before she turns 21.

Back to the present time, the young girl was thinking about the Ouran festival that will be up soon. Aphrodite was at the laboratory on that day and tests were done on her as per usual. 

"Doctor, will you come and visit the host club next week?" The purple haired girl spoke as she took her new meds, rattling the pills from its box. The label was anti-psychotics and fair enough it made her feel better once in a while.

"If I'm not busy. What's up, dearest? Come to think of it, it's been a while since I saw your friends."

"We will be having a school festival actually and the host club shall be open for all." Aphrodite grinned. "My friends were talking about you, they said you should try their services."

"Oh my, how flattering. They are such handsome young boys too." The doctor laughed heartily. "Hope my boyfriend won't be jealous."

"He won't if you invite him as well." The goddess smirked evilly.

"Nonsense, my dear. Best not for us to be too conspicuous in front of your mother." He rejected. "I shall pay you a visit, don't worry."

"Yay!!" Aphe cheered happily, swinging her long legs back and forth like a kid. The doctor smiled, remembering the little girl he had first met a couple of years back.

 

* * *

 

The host club booked an entire ballroom to serve the guests, complete with waiters and waitresses to serve drinks. Tamaki was fully occupied due to girls from other schools were begging for him to entertain them with his ethereal looks and romantic pick up lines. Kyouya and Haruhi were quite busy greeting the guests and occasionally ask them to sign the guestbook. Other times girls were also interested in Haruhi and would ask for a table.

Aphrodite has her own garden of eden, that was the name of her section to serve her guests. Girls would flock to her as she told them stories, sometimes play music instruments to woo them and some of them would even get basic lessons if they pay extra. She was having a field day with the ladies especially when a lot of them were older than her.

"This host club is very well done. May I speak to the manager, just to offer some compliments?" An older woman spoke to the bespectacled boy, who was showing her around. Behind her, Dr Alex was checking out the club too. Kyouya knew the woman had to be Aphrodite's mother, Diane.

"I believe that would be me as I manage all the affairs pertaining to this club. I am honoured to receive your compliment. The founder however is Suoh Tamaki who's currently fully booked for the day." Kyouya explained politely with a smile.

"Fantastic. If I'm not mistaken, you are the third son of the Ootori family. I've seen your brothers in a conference before." Diane commented and glanced at Alex. The platinum haired man nodded. Kyouya nodded.

"Correct, that's me."

The Ootori boy remained calm and composed, even though his instincts reacted otherwise. It would seem as if the woman was waiting to announce something sinister or make an unbecoming remark, as he could read her body language. Diane was only there because of her daughter and Alex. She observed her daughter from afar.

"I believe all of the hosts are Aphrodite's colleagues too." She remarked.

"They are. In fact they're pretty close, not just colleagues. They're her friends, I approve of this circle." Alex replied with a soft chuckle.

"Speaking of which, Kyouya-kun. You're Aphe's classmate alongside Tamaki if I recall correctly." Diane remarked. 

"Yes."

The mature woman smiled slyly and looked at Kyouya. He waited for her commentary. His gut feeling were telling him to run but he did not listen to it.

"As a friend, what do you think of Alex? He is Aphrodite's future fiance."

Alex gasped and looked at the madame. He did not expect her to just drop the bomb but his instincts told otherwise yesterday. All of a sudden she wouldn't mind visiting her own daughter at school of all days and that was something rather unusual for a workaholic parent. Even so, the doctor held back his tongue and stood in silence. 

"No harm done asking an opinion right?" Diane laughed sardonically and touched the doctor's shoulder. "They will know sooner or later anyway. The thing is knowing my daughter, she wouldn't let her friends be exposed to this kind of information due to her secretive nature." 

Haruhi who was observing the situation almost lost her balance. Aphe's future fiance turned out to be her own doctor who looks like he's in 20's or can be older. She felt sick to the stomach picturing the outcome, even though the doctor is kind and doesn't prefer women. How fucked up can Aphe's family be, she thought. She was starting to despise the woman's ingenue.

Kyouya stood still. He knew his gut feeling was correct and it was premeditated by one of his phone calls with Aphrodite. She wouldn't break the news, but it will come around eventually. The third Ootori son felt it was beyond repulsive, this woman was clearly enjoying his silence. Diane has never truly cared about her daughter's circle of friends. In fact, she would love if her daughter will be separated from them. Aphrodite is a child genetically engineered for the family's own benefit.

"Dr Alex is a great scientist with a prestigious background, alas he has been Aphe's guardian for years. I understand your predicament." Kyouya spoke, breaking the ill bearing silence between the three. He forced a perfect smile on his lips. Haruhi shuddered. 

"Wonderful. You are a great friend for her, Ootori Kyouya-kun, but all friendships end eventually. Also, I'll be taking my leave with the doctor." Diane smiled back and looked at Alex. The doctor shook hands with Kyouya before leaving the hall.

"Am very pleased to meet the mother of our goddess type. Thank you for your time." Kyouya responded politely. Soon the two adults left and Haruhi immediately walked to Kyouya, barely able to control her darkened expression.

"Is this really it for Aphe? I refuse to believe it. Kyouya-senpai, I am beyond dejected."

"We still have guests to serve, Haruhi. Such matters are to be discussed later." Kyouya looked away and wrote in his notebook. Haruhi frowned.

"Excuse me, may I request the time of Fujioka Haruhi?" A tall and beautiful French lady with mesmerizing blue eyes suddenly spoke. Haruhi gasped and answered her. Kyouya greeted her and asked Haruhi to serve said lady.

"My name is Eclair Tonerre, I am Tamaki's future fiance." She politely spoke with a rather menacing smile on her lips. "I believe my man is the king of the host club here."

Haruhi's eyes widened for a second before answering. "Yes he is. I am pleased to meet your acquaintance, miss Eclair. Have a seat." She could feel a part of herself turning numb as she escorted the lady to her seat. Now even Tamaki has his own suitor. 

Kyouya observed them from afar before noticing Mr Suoh and Mr Ootori were paying a visit to the host club as well. Tamaki's father walked towards his son to inform him of Eclair while Mr Ootori hastened his pace towards his third son. Kyouya knew what his father was trying to do. At first he was discussing about this particular club activity of him, which was a waste of time. Yoshio stated that Kyouya should be spending his time doing other beneficial things for his future.

"I am truly ashamed of you."

The bespectacled boy adjusted his glasses and refused to argue. He stood silent. Some of the host club members noticed that things weren't good with the two of them, as Yoshio did not even bother to take a seat. His father then scolded him, raised his hand motioning to teach his son a lesson, before someone stood in between himself and his son, the impact immediately landed on said person's head.

It was none other than the goddess type herself, taking the blow. Kyouya's eyes widened in shock as she pushed him aside. 

"Who is this?! You must not interfere with other people's affairs." Yoshio ordered as he retracted his hand.

"I must apologize for interrupting and being rude, Mr Ootori. But I'm not the type to watch while my friend here might suffer from public humiliation." Aphe spoke sternly, barely touching her face that was slightly hit. "Everyone has been staring for a while now."

"You—" The Ootori patriarch seethed in anger before placing his hands behind his back once again. He remained calm afterwards and started to remember the particular girl.

"Now I remember who you are, young lady. I believe we shall settle this later. Also, Kyouya." 

"Yes, father?" 

"Meet me in my office tonight to discuss about your misconduct."

"Affirmative."

Soon enough the Ootori patriarch left the event alongside the chairman of the school. Tamaki frowned, feeling concerned and dejected at the incident and quickly rushed to his best friend and Aphe. 

"I'm fine. This is within my expectations. I believe you have a special guest to meet today, Tamaki. The lady is with Haruhi, you better lend her some help. Save her." Kyouya spoke sternly, pushing his friend towards the two. He then looked at the goddess type who had a thousand yard stare across the room.

"Are you alright?" He questioned with a frown across his face. "You shouldn't have to do that. I was frankly taken aback."

"Yeah I am. It's not a big deal." She blinked and pointed at him.

"I think I would be more of a fool to just see you taking the blow in front of everyone."

The Ootori son was rendered speechless. Everything was too much to digest and it was only day one. Kyouya recalled the fact that he had to deal with Diane's antics but he wouldn't want to discuss about it with the goddess, not now at least. 

Aphrodite then looked at Haruhi from afar. The tomboy had learned several truths from Tamaki and Eclair and it was far from pleasant to her ears.

"I believe after this day ends, all our fates are sealed." The purple haired girl remarked grimly, losing the colours of life on her face. She walked past Kyouya's shoulders and remained silent before he muttered, 

"The most unfortunate outcome would be yours, Aphrodite. Your future engagement is build based on lies."

The girl stopped in her tracks. Kyouya spoke once again. 

"Perhaps you should reflect on yourself more." 

Aphrodite stormed off and ran through the vast hallways, hoping to still catch a glimpse of Dr Alex and Dr Diane. But they were nowhere to found. The goddess type slowly realized she was all alone in this world with an unbecoming future. Perhaps it is time to reflect and meet Alice again.

She could feel herself shaking and descending into madness as she phoned her butler, calling it a day.

 


	15. Slow Dancing With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of the Ouran festival.

"Eclair Tonnerre is the French heiress to the Grand Tonnerre group, that has caused a commotion in the business world as of late." Kyouya spoke as he checked his records. "It is of great honour to have the heiress herself visiting the club, although with a rather shocking revelation." 

Haruhi who was staring through the windows of the club fell silent. The incident with Tamaki senpai and Eclair yesterday was unbecoming. Eventually she excused herself and went to the dressing room and she saw Aphe was changing as well.

"Hey there, Haruhi." The goddess type wriggled her eyebrows and did her eye smile. "Let's change clothes together."

"Don't treat me like one of your ladies, Aphe." Haruhi sighed and smiled.

It was then both of them heard the sound of an immaculate piano playing from next door. Haruhi stood silent, unable to utter a word as she frowned slightly. Aphrodite looked at her, slowly picking up cues.

"I guess he's playing for Eclair huh." The purple haired girl commented as she did her hair in front of the mirror.

"Yeah I suppose." Haruhi answered softly. "Tamaki senpai shall be busy because of her."

"That's too bad, isn't it?" Aphe spoke, her face darkened. "That lady is conniving and manipulative, Haruhi. I would know since I am one as well."

Haruhi buttoned up her suit and adjusted her tie. "I don't think so at all."

"Eh?"

"I was around when Kyouya-senpai had to serve your mother and Dr Alex. I believe I understand your situation now. It is very unbecoming. You are severely suffering from the repercussions and the effect it shall cause for your future." Haruhi explained in utmost clarity.

"You have your plans, perhaps a rather conniving one at that. But you are just like Kyouya-senpai, a diamond with a rough exterior. To me you're an amazing person even with different personalities, Aphe." She continued with a half smile before leaving the room.

Aphrodite didn't speak of anything afterwards and heard the door shut behind her. She stared at her reflection, closed her eyes and buttoned her suit.

Afterwards it was revealed that Tamaki's grandmother has planned everything from A to Z regarding him and Eclair. Haruhi listened to the other hosts explanation of his tragic background, how he had to leave France and help his mother's company to be free from debt. And now he is forced to be engaged with Eclair for god knows why. Haruhi frowned and rubbed her head. Aphe placed her hand on the tomboy's shoulder.

"But rest assured, Haruhi. I'm pleased to know the Tamaki as he is now. It's proof that he would favour the host club above all and he will always be with us." Kyouya smiled.

"How about you, Aphe-san? Will you be engaged to Dr Alex once school ends?" The twins questioned and looked at the goddess type. The rest fell silent as all eyes were focused on her. Hani senpai frowned.

"I.... have no answer to that as of now. I would have to be of legal age anyway. It's a long shot." Aphe explained coldly and looked at Kyouya. "But I must apologize for the inconvenience Kyouya had to deal with yesterday. My mother is manipulative, that's the vibe she carries but I swear she cares for me."

"She didn't even talk to you, Aphrodite. You guys haven't seen each other for a long time." Kyouya commented. "There's a completely distant air between you two."

"I don't have much to say about that."

The door suddenly creaked open and revealed Tamaki with Eclair holding hands. Haruhi immediately noticed the pact.

"As most of you guys have known by now, I will be engaged to Lady Eclair Tonnerre from France. The host club shall be dissolved once the school festival ends. That is all from me today. I apologize for the inconvenience I have caused to every single one of you. Have a great day."   
  
  


* * *

  
  


_Is this really it? Looks like my youth is about to be done._   
  


_Alice, perhaps you have been watching me and my friends for quite a while now._   
  


_If you really loved me, before we reunite, would you mind granting me one last favour?_   
  


_I hope the host club never dissolves._   
  
  


"We have to bring that idiot back. He's leaving to France with Eclair as we speak." Kyouya commanded. Aphrodite snapped from her trance, looking at Haruhi across the seat who was in a state of shock.

"Haruhi, let's go." Hikaru muttered. The tomboy nodded.

"My car is downstairs, we better hurry. Aphrodite, you should follow suit." Kyouya ordered. The purple haired girl unbuttoned her coat, leaving only the white collared shirt, suspenders and trousers as she smirked.

"I will give my all."

"I knew you'd say that." He smiled back. 

They arrived at the basement and were unfortunately greeted by the Ootori police force in a huge number. They announced that his father refused to let them interfere with the betrothal of Tamaki and Eclair. Kyouya seethed in anger. But all is well when Mori and Hani brought a horse carriage for Haruhi and the twins to stop Tamaki from leaving.

"Bring him back Haruhi. Follow what your heart desires." Aphe spoke as she pushed Haruhi towards the twins. She flashed an eye smile towards the tomboy.

"We only live once."

"Thank you, Aphrodite." Haruhi sobbed and waved at her. The three of them immediately rode the carriage and sprinted off.

"Aphe-chan, you sure have a knack of making people cry." Hani commented before his expression darkened. "Takashi, go easy on these men."

"Affirmative." Mori answered as he beat all of them to a pulp.

"Stand back and just watch." Kyouya ordered, placing his hand in front of the goddess type.

All of a sudden Aphe flashed a conniving smile at him, grabbing his arm and slowly pushing it away. The goddess took a hairband from her sleeve and tied up her hair.

"No way in hell. Do you really think all those experiments on me were just for naught? You sit down and watch, Kyouya."

"After all I am madness, unhinged." She continued and sprinted off to beat up one of the guards. Her long, slender legs were utilized to kick, delivering a couple of massive blows and render some of them immobilized.

Aphrodite's psychotic side was apparent that evening as she didn't find a reason to conceal herself in front of the Ootori boy anymore, nor the other members in the club. Nobody wants to befriend a nutcase, but if the host club members themselves are crackheads, it is meant to be.

"Waaa Aphe-chan so cool!! I'll definitely tell Athena about this!!" Hani cheered in delight as he hugged the tall girl. Aphrodite laughed and held the shota in her arms.

"Never underestimate the host club, ladies and gentlemen. Even the goddess herself is out of this world." Kyouya smirked, adjusting his glasses.

Mori looked at the bespectacled underclassmen and smiled, throwing the unconscious guards to the side.  
  
  


* * *

  
  


The rest of the members were pleased to see Tamaki returning to school with Haruhi and the twins beside her. The tomboy waved at everyone, her expression jovial and the colours were back on her face once more. Tamaki smiled and shrugged.

"You idiot. We will never let you go." Kyouya commented, nudging the blonde as he laughed heartily. Aphe giggled at the sight, loving the mom and dad reunion.

"Kyouya looked like he would burn down the entire school if you left." She commented. "Don't pull that shit again please."

"I won't!!! I'm sorry everyone!!!" Tamaki cried and everyone hugged him in unison. The family is back once more. Soon the host club dance party of the night were commenced and everyone walked up to their partners to twirl and enjoy the festival.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, the djs of the night, may I request a song to commemorate this day?" Aphrodite whispered. "Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith and Normani, please."

"Only if you dance for us." Kaoru winked, copying her aesthetic. The goddess type groaned. Suddenly Hikaru pointed at his upperclassmen. "With Kyouya-senpai."

The purple haired girl shrieked in response. "For what?" Kyouya noticed their topic and walked to them as he smirked.

"Think of the good music. You know you want to." The bespectacled boy grabbed her hand. She cringed for a while but agreed. The twins immediately turned up the music and noticed Tamaki was dancing with Haruhi merrily as well. Aphrodite looked at the boy in front of him, her eyes downcast for a while before mouthing the lyrics. Her magenta eyes shone like glass, her smile was as radiant as the moon as she pulled him towards her.

_I don't wanna be alone tonight_   
_It's pretty clear that I'm not over you_   
_I'm still thinking 'bout the things you do_   
_So I don't want to be alone tonight, alone tonight, alone tonight_

Kyouya smiled back, encircling her waist with one arm and another to hold her hand. His grey eyes were enchanting that night and the smile across his immaculate facial features somehow took her breath away. Looking at him up close made the young girl thought of how visually pleasing he is, perfect if he ever considers to be an idol apart from his rotten and sarcastic personality. Aphrodite sung the lyrics quietly under her breath, as it was something she  loves to do when dancing at the studio with her friends. She was used to it despite how suggestive the words are. Her showmanship has always been good.

_Can you light the fire?_   
_I need somebody who can take control_   
_I know exactly what I need to do_   
_'Cause I don't wanna be alone tonight, alone tonight, alone tonight_

The Ootori boy didn't find a reason to conceal himself nor his actions that night. Everything is fine with the world, he didn't hate it as much as he does especially in the wee hours of the morning. He knew his father would eventually caught on about the Ootori shares he bought and sold back to the patriarch himself. Kyouya is aware of his potential as a successor, but he wasn't going to let it be an easy win. After all, what's the fun in playing a game where the opponent is at a complete disadvantage? Kyouya bought the company, threw it back to his father and liberated himself from the vicious cycle. Yoshio understood his cue and believed his third son has found something even more valuable to achieve in his life.

_Look what you made me do, I'm with somebody new_   
_Ooh, baby, baby, I'm dancing with a stranger_   
_Look what you made me do, I'm with somebody new_   
_Ooh, baby, baby, I'm dancing with a stranger_   
_Dancing with a stranger_

Aphrodite had known the tension between Kyouya and his father has been going on since he was just a little boy. Yet Kyouya is never an ordinary young boy either. He was raised to be a prodigy and slowly his capabilities shone through as the years drew by. She smirked as the thought of him succeeding the company entered her mind, before twirling against his body and letting the music take over the steps.

"Aphrodite A., isn't it? I'll keep that in mind and keep tabs on her and her family." Yoshio spoke in the chairman's office. "She seems to be very capable of breaking Kyouya's standards and be with him in the future."

Mr Suoh smiled as he rested his hand on his chin. "I'll have my eyes on Fujioka Haruhi, the perfect candidate for my son. She is truly one of a kind."


	16. Live Fast Die Young

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All her personalities coalesce to meet one goal.

"Say, Aphrodite. Would you die for Kyouya-senpai?" Kaoru asked, smirking at the purple haired girl. They were playing a game; poker cards spread out on the table on both sides.

"What do you mean? I'd die for all my friends." Aphrodite spoke nonchalantly. "Your turn."

Hikaru was watching the game intently and cheering for the mature twin. Kaoru placed an ace of spades.

"Let's say, if Kyouya-senpai fell sick and need an organ transplant, would you be the donor?"

"Hm? Not a problem then, I would." The girl shrugged.

"If both of you are in a life or death situation, and only one can survive the calamity. What would you do?"

"Now that's a difficult question, knowing how selfish I am at times." Aphrodite narrowed her eyes. "But who am I kidding, I would die for my friends. In a heartbeat tbh, I'll let Kyouya live so that he can succeed his company."

"This love runs deep huh." Hikaru chided.

The purple haired girl rolled her eyes and placed a card of the king. "Enough clownery from you two. Your turn."

Haruhi who was watching at the sidelines with Kyouya, whispered. "I don't think I will ever get Aphrodite's feelings. She's too erratic."

"That's the goddess of love for you." The bespectacled boy sighed and resumed his work. "She prefers to observe people in love but haven't noticed how emotionless she has become over time."

"But you know what, Kyouya-senpai?"

"Hm?"

"I'd like to believe she loves you. She would give up her life to see you succeed." Haruhi smiled.

"I suppose I am mildly flattered to hear that." Kyouya crossed his legs.

"But I'm not, because that would mean I'll be losing her."   
  
  


* * *

 

"In truth, I had lured you into the host club, Aphe." Athena spoke, placing her tea cup in front of her. Hani looked at the purple haired girl and smiled. The senior wanted to talk to her underclassmen and it was none other than Aphe herself. The other host club members were watching them as well.

"Athena-chan told me a lot of things about you." Hani frowned. "I hope you can overcome your past and present."

Aphrodite let out a sigh as she dropped her black coat to the side. Her tie suddenly felt too tight due to the anxiety she was having.

She loosened her tie and looked at Haruhi. A lot of the guests went back, Athena stayed for a while just for this moment. The natural type was concerned, suddenly Aphe felt as if her world was starting to crumble. But it has been a long time coming; the girl had foreseen this even before the ouran festival.

She heard Athena's clear yet soft voice talking to her again.

"You have built so many walls and personas around you that you have hidden all your sufferings and your true self." Athena spoke.

"I see that you're happier, you've made more friends. But whenever you leave the school, I can see the sad girl turning her back at the world once more."

Aphe gazed at her senior, still at a loss of words.

"Don't you love your friends at the host club?" She asked again.

"I do. I have stood up for them and helped them whenever they need help." Aphe confessed.

She remembered beating up the guys that was harassing Haruhi. Or the times when Mori needed a Kendo sparring partner. Helping the Hiitachin twins pick their next theme, or playing games with them. Accompanying Hani to buy cakes. Things even went a bit haywire during the Ouran festival when she went in between Kyouya and his father to stand up for him.

"I would do anything for my friends." She spoke.

"Then why are you refusing to let them help you? Friends are supposed to help each other." Athena replied.

The goddess type had her eyes downcast.

"They're not stupid. Take Haruhi for instance. She knows."

Haruhi walked up to Aphe and looked up to her. "We're concerned about you."

Hani walked up to the goddess type and tugged on her shirt. "In truth, me and Kyou-chan investigated about you with Athena, since we know you have your struggles that you can't face alone. Because you will never tell us."

Aphe smiled weakly.

"I couldn't. Because it has become a part of me, perhaps the darkest and the most incorrigible side to overcome."

"You tried to attempt suicide once last year. Someone close to you died of unfavorable circumstances. Records were nonexistent but some people remember. Your senior remembers." Kyouya looked at Athena.

"Perhaps you were planning to make the host club your last stop, and I didn't want that." The brown haired senior stood up. "All of us want you to be better. I hope you can rethink your decision. You have another 2 years in this high school. Only a couple of months for me since I'm graduating."

Kyouya continued, "That person who was close to you, it's her isn't it? The girl you would write or tell stories about to your guests. She didn't die due to an accident. She took her own life."

Aphe saw Haruhi was wiping off her tears. She felt numb, standing still without uttering a word. Tamaki frowned and spoke,

"You always have that gaze. The kind of stare that belongs not in the present, could go on a million yards ahead. I've always wondered why, Aphe."

"I survived my attempt, albeit barely- but I stopped trying." Aphe confessed unapologetically.

Athena hugged the goddess type and smiled. "I shall believe that you'll get better soon. Keep on living, my dearest Aphrodite."

The purple haired girl stood still before returning the hug. It was the longest hug they shared together, accompanied by tears. But to Aphe, she could still make out the sound of whispers in her head, telling her to go ahead with her plan. These sinister whispers are the type Dr Alex wanted to treat, her burgeoning depression and DID. Aphrodite saw how he sacrificed his whole time to research more alongside his colleague. Hence it was somehow fated that he might become her future fiance, although it is obvious that it's not love, just another arrangement from the family.

Kyouya returned to his desk and checked his folders. He wanted to update more information about the goddess type. It hurts to type more details about her, as the truth sounds too bizarre for someone who is very young. Kyouya is used to people commenting how mature he looked, albeit years ahead from his age while Aphrodite is used to people saying she's like a kid, but her height saved that hence she could still get away by not being a total child.

He stopped for a while after typing about her future fiance.  _Is this really it? Aphrodite will get married to someone almost 15 years older than her?_  Kyouya felt sick to his stomach, his face gradually turned pale. He remained calm, never letting people read his emotions.

_I shall talk to the doctor when I get back._

"Kyouya, I'm sorry." He heard her spoke. Kyouya turned around to see a familiar purple haired girl staring back at him dejectedly.

"You had to investigate from Hani, Athena and Mori senpai. I am offering my apology for your troubles." Aphe bowed 90 degrees before standing upright once more.

"It's fine. No need to apologize. I got what I wanted." Kyouya smiled. "I need to talk to Dr Alex about something though."

Aphrodite took a couple of seconds to guess. "Is this about the arrangement?"

"It's a secret." Kyouya adjusted his glasses and resumed his work. The younger girl narrowed her eyes before taking her leave.  
  
  


* * *

  
  


_Live fast, die young._

_Words to live by,_  the greek goddess in student form thought as she changed her clothes to a casual one for the dance club. It was the same routine except it's a different day from the date where Athena exposed her secrets. She wanted her to have more friends over time, so that Aphe won't be left with her thoughts and dissociate again.

Aphrodite silently recalled the engagement issue with Dr Alex in her mind. It is something she shouldn't worry about since she's not of legal age yet. But in Ouran, it is a huge thing. Engagement means love, a lifetime relationship, a betrothal. She could've sworn if it's a girls school, engagement means segregation from freedom.

"Hey Aphe, are you okay?" Haruhi asked as she peeked at the dressing room.

"I am good."

"Ok. See you."

The goddess type adjusted her hair and put on her casual jacket. She looked at the reflection in the mirror. Pale, a bit gaunt, with seemingly two twigs as legs. It reminded her of Kyouya's thin frame, except that he's taller. She groaned and covered the mirror with a curtain. The young girl immediately left the dressing room.

"Aphrodite." Kyouya called, he was leaning against the wall as he observed her exiting the room.

"Kyouya? I didn't see you there." Aphe turned around and faced him.

"I just wanted to inform that Dr Alex is now sharing a part of his research with the Ootori group and in return he is allowed to hire bodyguards from our private police force."

"......Wait."

"You shall have 3 new bodyguards in total."

Aphe gulped.

"Isn't this too much bodyguards for one person? Unlike you because Tachibana, Hotta and Ajima has been taking care of you since you were a child." She commented in haste.

"You'd think after I have investigated more about you, I would leave you unguarded? Think again." Kyouya smirked.

 _This would not happen if I didn't associate with him._ Aphe thought.

"Even if you don't associate yourself with me, I'd still find a way through a business link leading towards Dr Alex." Kyouya replied, reading her mind. The younger girl shrieked a bit in response.

"Fine. One last thing before I go though, have you ever heard about the phrase Live Fast, Die Young?"

"I have. Sounds rather foolish. What of it?"

Aphrodite smiled, her eyes forming an inverted crescent as she whispered in a childlike voice,

_"It is what all of us desire the most. Live fast die young, leave a beautiful corpse."_

Kyouya was stunned, unable form a word. Her childlike alter was fronting; but with a very malicious intent. He recalled the incident in Haruhi's place and started to have slight tremors. Not again.

The purple haired girl was grinning in front of him. Kyouya remained composed as he phoned Dr Alex once more, asking him to pick her up on his own. Aphrodite walked away and danced on her own before leaving the room. The raven haired boy stared at her from afar, his thoughts running at the speed of light. Kyouya realized if he doesn't keep her in check, he will lose her one day. 

_Please come back, Ayaka._


	17. The Egoist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you the kudos!! It means so much to me hehe enjoy this chapter and the next, the confession scene is soon!

_"Your eyes are grey but your soul is black."_

Kyouya's thoughts trailed off as he recalled a sarcastic comment from a girl in middle school. She commented on his behavior and directly stated that he is a satan incarnate. In truth, earlier Kyouya had rejected the girl's confession a couple of days ago before she went off.

 _She's not wrong,_ he thought.  _The evil king is dark and cruel._

He was raised by his father to act only within his best interest. Use everything at hand be it a friend or foe. Not sure when it comes to love interest, though. The Ootori boy has never been interested in love. But Kyouya's manipulative tactics would always work. The half scorpio side of him is useful for that.

"I would say that I'm an egoist." Kyouya stated, tapping his pen on his desk. As usual, it was post-host club hours where most of the guests left the room and went back.

"You still have some good in you, Kyouya." Aphrodite leaned back at the luxurious couch in the host club and closed her eyes.

"That's what I believe." The younger girl confessed, yawning before eventually falling asleep due to lethargy.

"How flattering." He scoffed, only to realize she is not listening a minute later.

"Being an egoist means I would think of locking you up for my own benefit. If possible I would request father to build another room beside me so that you'll never leave my sight." Kyouya continued, whispering to himself.

"I'm extremely possessive in nature. I don't like people touching my stuff. I most certainly don't like anyone else to own you. I'm a bad person to be thinking this way, I acknowledge that. Let's hope I will never have to resort to extreme measures."

"Perhaps I can diagnose this sort of attitude as Yandere. I learned this from Renge. She had mistaken me for the prince type at first due to my cool front, when I'm actually Yandere." He remembered all of a sudden while adjusting his glasses, smiling to himself darkly.

The Ootori boy left his desk and moved closer to observe the sleeping girl. He stared at her lips, soft and somehow very alluring. He found himself feeling a bit lightheaded and left the couch.

_This is not the time for that._

Kyouya went back to his desk and did his work. He gulped and noticed his sudden tremors from holding back his thoughts. He broke his pen and scrapped the page he was writing. He had a knack of being meticulous with his handwriting, being the absolute perfectionist he is.

All of a sudden he had a flashback about the other boys who confessed to her. Of course Kyouya would know everything, from their names to the family and prestige. They were inferior to him. There's no way she would date them. If she does, he would certainly snap and call her out for that. Regarding Dr Alex, there's not much pressure knowing he only acts like a guardian to Aphe, not more than that. Plus he's gay.

Kyouya thought, since when did he became this irrational and flippant; it reminded him of his first meeting with Tamaki. He isn't like any other guys out there. About Aphrodite however, he didn't want to let her out of his sight. She's an eccentric. From the way she moves with that tall figure of hers, prancing around gracefully, entertaining the ladies in her garden of eden. Kyouya would want to make her his so that he will never get bored of watching her. He was starting to notice how lovely things would be if this is considered as romance.

_Maybe one day I would like to take her out on a date or something._

He couldn't concentrate on the math homework for a while; suddenly thinking about her hobbies or interests. What kind of movies she prefers to watch? How about food? Favourite flower? Safe to say, Ootori Kyouya have never been on a date before and he realized this requires further research.

"I fell asleep, ugh sorry. I think I should get going." Aphe took her jacket and rubbed her head. She turned to Kyouya, who had a blank stare at her. The young girl waved at his face and grinned.

"Goodbye Kyouya, see you later."

Kyouya looked at her and smiled innocently.

"See you."  
  


* * *

  
Aphrodite sat on her bed and checked her notifications. She was wearing her pjs and her hair was tied up in a bun. Kyouya was texting her, asking her about host club ideas even though he could've just texted Renge about it. The goddess type didn't mind either way, after all a daughter has her own duties to the mommy.

Kyouya was having the time of his life, knowing how she replies swiftly, only with 1 sec gap in between their texts. He felt the urge to confess a lot of things to her but he would rather not put his reputation on the line. Work is work. His 3 bodyguards knew Kyouya has been up to something or someone. Fairly enamoured in fact. But they left their young master to his own devices.

_This is my love story._

_I hope it ends with me and her._

Kyouya stopped typing when he heard a knock in the middle of the night. The boy sighed as he opened the door only to reveal his second brother looking like he's about to explode.

"What's up Aki—" Kyouya's sentence was cut off once his brother punched him in his gut and threw his slim figure across the room.

"That's for pissing off father and goofing around with a— for christ's sake, host club." Akito growled and retracted his fist. "I've always hated those weird friends of yours." He moved closer to the coughing boy and grabbed his collar.

"You're such an asshole, Kyouya." Akito taunted.

"AKITO STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AT ONCE!" Fuyumi yelled in horror as she hurriedly rushed to the third son. She had tears in her eyes after watching the baby boy laying limp and wincing in pain. Kyouya wanted to get up and kick his brother but to no avail.

"Whatever. I'm done teaching him a lesson anyway." Akito walked away and slammed the door behind him.

"Kyouya, oh god I'm so sorry, I should've arrived here sooner." Fuyumi sobbed as he hugged the coughing boy. She brought him to his bed.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me." Kyouya forced a smile. "I think it's best for you to go to bed. I'll be fine, thank you for coming btw."

"Alright. Goodnight Kyouya." Fuyumi sobbed and kissed his forehead.

"I love you."

"Goodnight, love you too."

As soon as she left the room, Kyouya's expression turned dark, ready to snap something or someone in half even if he was still in pain. He got up, wrote something as a release and broke his pen.  _It's not enough_ , he thought. _I need something else—_

_Like her._

Kyouya checked his phone and saw her good night message. They have school tomorrow, of course she would be asleep by now. He took a deep breath and tried to alleviate his own anger by thinking of her. He texted Yuuichi instead and told him more about his symptoms. At this point his anger and frustration would prompt him to grab a knife and hurt someone— especially Akito but he knew he couldn't. So he would hurt himself instead. Just a couple of cuts would do on his hips where no one can see.

But Kyouya knew better not to give in to temptation. He recalled his brother's insults.

_"You're such an asshole, Kyouya."_

Just like the girl in middle school, Akito's words weren't too far from the truth. Kyouya is an ass, if not because of his lineage, intelligence, his charming looks and smile, no one would want to befriend a fake boy. If her situation was no one wants to befriend a nutcase, Kyouya's situation would be; no one would want to befriend a two faced, bitter asshole.

Ootori Kyouya is an egoist.

Despite everything, she told him, "You still have some good in you, Kyouya." That sentence made him laugh unironically the other day. But that night, he felt himself coming undone.

It made him cry.


	18. The City Of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The confession part starts now. Tell me what you think!

Aphrodite woke up with a dreadful feeling in her chest, as if something bad happened yesterday but she didn't know what it was. Also she couldn't understand why the twins would occasionally drop clues about the vice president is obsessed about her. He does that to everyone, even Haruhi.

She brushed off the thought and looked at her schedule. It's a class trip to Paris, France. Everyone shall depart in the evening, classes will resume as usual a day after the trip is done. The Greek girl shrugged and packed her suitcase. She had been to the city once before and it was not bad. Aphe would always spend her summer break by traveling, as her butler would follow just to keep an eye on her. But after joining the host club, she wasn't sure if it's possible to take time off from this new group of friends.

The students finally arrived at the city of love the next day. They went to their designated hotels, meanwhile Kyouya took out his phone and called his 3 bodyguards to assist him. Aphrodite told her mother about the class trip and advised her butlers to not follow or eavesdrop. After all it's just a weekend trip.

"Tamaki, that idiot." Kyouya seethed. "I knew something was up when he told me he would take a separate plane. He lied."

"Oh god that makes sense. I was wondering where did he go. Why is he running away?" Aphe questioned.

"It has to do with his mother. He is forbidden to visit her if you remember."

"True."

"I'm going to use this trip to track her down." Kyouya smiled. "You can enjoy your trip with the others."

"To be honest I've been here before, in Paris." The goddess type confessed. "Would it be possible if I tag along?"

Kyouya's eyes widened before he nodded. "Not a problem. In fact, I'm pleased to hear that. Let's go."

Aphrodite walked alongside the Ootori son and his three loyal bodyguards. Somehow all is well with the world to her. She texted her senior about her trip and whereabouts, leaving out details about the detour with Kyouya and his guards.  
  


* * *

 

"Master Kyouya, wake up."

The youngest Ootori boy opened his eyes groggily, barely getting enough sleep. His vision were blurry, his glasses were held by Hotta. They had been in a 6-hour journey by car to reach the countryside. By now they are outside Paris and moving south.

Aphrodite sat quietly and stared outside the window. The three of them were at the backseat and not to mention the rented car was a bit cramped. Kyouya immediately grunted and ruffled his hair.

"I didn't sleep, my head hurts, I swear I can't sleep in this cramped car—" He complained angrily. 

"Master Kyouya, this is why I was suggesting that we rest last night and make a move after." Hotta mentioned as he was starting to feel a bit awkward, knowing Aphrodite is around. Suddenly Kyouya stopped talking and looked at the purple haired girl.

She turned to him and flashed an eye smile. "Good morning Kyouya."

"If we spend the night at a hotel, there won't be enough time for us to reach here in the morning." He snatched his glasses from Hotta's pocket and wore them. "I won't be able to wake up on time."

The 3 bodyguards nodded in unison.

"Also good morning, Aphe." Sighing at his own idiocy, Kyouya greeted her still. Although he simply couldn't care about staying cool in front of his daughter anymore. His body was giving out, his migraines intense and hypotension elevated.

"Young master, we're almost there. Be alert." Hotta advised.

"My head hurts and Hotta is noisy." Kyouya groaned, unlocking the door and walked around. "I'll just sleep by the roadside, wake me up when the sun rises a bit more....." He collapsed on the ground and slept.

"N-no master Kyouya, that's the roadside!!" Hotta hurried over to the boy. "It seems we need a place to stay, Aphrodite. You've been here right? Do you know any hotels around here?"

"I've been to Paris but can't remember the countryside much..." Aphe shrugged and looked at the collapsed boy. She knelt down to touch his forehead. It was then a random dog who looked like Antoinette barked at the unconscious Kyouya.

"Hachibee! What are you doing? Oh, it's a young boy...." A woman with blonde hair and purple eyes spoke in French. Aphrodite quickly went to her and explained their situation in English.

"Anne-sophie, I believe that's me." She smiled. "You guys can take him to my place. Ootori Kyouya is it?"

"Yes, he is Tamaki's best friend." Aphe confessed. "Thank you so much for your aid, madame Anne-sophie."

"Best friend, how cute of him to check on me on Tamaki's behalf. A true friend right there." Anne spoke. "My house is just down the street. Let's make a move."   
  
  


* * *

 

"Ugh... this amount of sunlight—" Kyouya groaned as he woke up. He heard a familiar girl's voice talking to an older one, also the name of Tamaki's mother, Anne-sophie was heard too. He realized he isn't sleeping at a hotel and immediately jolted up, frantically putting on his glasses.

"Ah, the boy is up. Come here and have lunch with us." Anne-sophie urged and smiled. Aphrodite waved at Kyouya. He reluctantly dragged his foot towards the dining table, but he was admittedly very famished and he needed the food for energy.

"I suppose you are Tamaki's mother." Kyouya sat in front of her.

"Yes. Nice to meet you too, Kyouya." The woman spoke softly. "Can I ask a thing or two about Japan? No actually I have so much to ask!"

Turns out Tamaki's mother is exactly like the prince himself, Kyouya thought. Overall, they had a pleasant conversation. She hoped Kyouya would pass the message to her son about her being happy and healthy, living in the countryside.

They left the house in the evening after a quick stroll around the neighborhood. Kyouya and the goddess type saw some souvenir shops, they decided to buy them for the host club members. Aphrodite was enjoying the serene view of cottages and lush greenery with the mountains behind. She took pictures of herself, sometimes with Kyouya, assisted by his bodyguards. The Ootori boy seemed to have the time of his life and he looked happy for once. Soon the two walked together at a cliff which had a panoramic view of the town.

"This is such a breathtaking view." Aphe cheered and pointed at the mountains.

"It is. Haven't seen one for ages." Kyouya replied, enjoying the view. He looked at her once more and thought, perhaps a better view would be her instead. He found himself slightly parting his mouth to spill his thoughts, before scrapping the lame idea altogether. He felt slight tremor in his hands, his body tensed up and his vision a blur.

_Calm down, Kyouya._

_Don't do anything stupid._

They walked together for some time before the younger girl commented again,

"Hey, it looks just like snow." Aphrodite stared above, her gaze calm yet focused towards the clouds. The cold evening breeze swept her hair against the sides of her face. She tucked a couple of strands gently behind her ears.

Aphe was walking a few steps ahead of him before she turned around and spoke once more. She had the precious eye smile again on her face; happiness radiating throughout her existence that day.

"I suppose I do miss winter that much. Which season do you love, Kyouya?"

Kyouya slowly followed her from behind before he decided to unravel his thoughts. It's all or nothing, he thought. None of the host club members are around. This short trip is a golden opportunity for him to finally proclaim his admiration at best. He thought this day would never come.

The Ootori son knew he would always seize an opportunity whenever he sees fit, while minimizing the damage to his own reputation.

"Hey, Aphrodite. I think, I am in love with you."

The goddess type's initial eye smile faded. Her mouth hung slightly agape at his sudden confession. He spoke again.

"Pardon me if I'm wrong but I do feel that perhaps you... you like me too, Aphrodite. I don't know to what extent, though."

_Wait, what?_

Aphrodite looked intensely at the Ootori boy in disbelief, lowkey waiting for him to snap or smirk mischievously. It wasn't a drill. Kyouya didn't move at first, he remained stoic before slowly closing the distance between them. That moment caught her in a trance. It's as if time had stopped for the two of them. His stern expression made the situation even more overwhelming.

She finally parted her lips.

"You know everything about me and my biggest flaw. You shouldn't fall in love with me."

Kyouya smiled. That particular smile broke her heart and ripped them to shreds. This is the smile of a contented man, who is happy he finally confessed and wouldn't regret it any other way. Why can't she possess the same smile as well? Aphrodite could feel her composure wearing off.

"I believe that's not possible. I'm deeply in love with you in a lot of ways you can't comprehend."

Aphe could feel cold sweat running down her back and her heartbeat pacing faster.

"Kyouya, I—"

He leaned in closer and stole a kiss. Her eyes widened even more. Their lips parted. She held her breath as he explained,

"I'm not expecting you to respond. I took the initiative just to let you know how I feel about you. This is not a drill, either. No more lies. I must apologize if you feel used or toyed with before."

Aphrodite took a deep breath before asking, "Why?"

"I want you to be the best version of yourself. I keep thinking of ways that would end your misery, but to no avail. I'm doing the same for Tamaki, keeping his depression at bay and missing his mother. He had a tragic childhood, similar to yours. But you, you're still very much elusive to me."

Aphe looked down, her eyebrows arched upwards as she spoke, "I'm sorry, Kyouya. Truly. For making you worry, for the sleepless nights, for the investigations you had done. I was so sure no one would befriend me once my secrets are exposed and be left to rot. But the host club changed my perspective. All of us are facing our own adversities together. Frankly when I stood up for you, all I thought was I want everyone to know how amazing you are. I believe no one will do it as good as you."

"Perhaps you're right." The Ootori boy stared at the scenery, as the evening breeze swept across his jet black hair. His stare seemed to be a thousand miles ahead of him. Her words were etched in his mind. His hair slightly glistened in the orange hue of the sunset, his skin pale yet radiant on that day. Aphrodite continued,

"Let's face our hardships together from now on, without the club members knowing. If this doesn't work, we'll just go back to being friends." She suggested.

Kyouya's eyes widened for second before he smiled.

"That alone is an interesting idea."

She continued, "I can't promise you I'll get better. There are a lot of things about me that are left unresolved. I can't say I love you with all my heart. But I will believe in you, just the way you seem to believe in me."

They were staring into each other's eyes, reading cues, or perhaps waiting for each other to snap and call it a joke. But on that day, neither of them did and Kyouya who had loathed the idea of romance, whom initially wouldn't mind being in the sidelines of his best friend's romance— was starting to feel differently. He felt contented, his heart finally opening up, his rose stained glasses shone and the thought of her eye smile made him eager to continue. He wanted to explore new frontiers with her.

Aphe stood still, waiting for him to break the silence.

"I have passed all the rules of love." Kyouya pointed at her. "It's your turn to discover yours."  
  
  


* * *

  
  


"What would you do if Kyouya is your bf?" One of the girls spoke. They were all back in class as usual, gossiping about the host club. Kyouya stayed silent while eavesdropping.

"I'd fuck his brains out." Another girl confessed, whispering low. "What about you, Aphe?"

Aphe had her jaw dropped after listening to the girl's confession. "Well I guess I wouldn't fuck his brains out. Yall should really get laid."

"Is it true that you've slept around with ladies?" The girl questioned.

Aphe looked around before whispering to her. "Once or twice."

The two classmates gasped and giggled. Suddenly Kyouya broke a pen while gritting his teeth.  _Of course she would. But at least she hasn't slept with a boy._

"Mon ami, are you okay?" A familiar blonde frowned, concerned for his demonic bff.

"I'm fine. Just a bit fatigued due to the trip that you ditched." Kyouya spoke sarcastically. Tamaki shuddered and hurried back to his seat. Later on, host club activities resumed as usual and Kyouya gave all the members except his bff a souvenir. But he had the most precious gift ready for him, which is the news of his mother doing well in France.

Kyouya was fatigued but happy. After all, he could be with Aphrodite as a lover, even if it's an undeclared relationship. Aphe had her eyes downcast, looking at her text book as the teacher continued his lessons. She drew a small picture of her and Kyouya having fun together instead of him and another girl.

They looked happy, at least for now.


	19. Secret Relationship

"Let's play the piano." Aphe suggested all of a sudden. The two of them just got done revising important topics for an exam. A month has passed since the class trip, Kyouya's confession and the Greek girl accepted it, only on the pretense of a secret relationship. They were skilled at hiding the truth, being conniving and somewhat double-faced. Kyouya eventually realized it's better to keep the relationship lowkey and away from a certain prince's notice.

 

"Nevermind. You go ahead and play for me." Kyouya smiled as he closed his book.

 

"Besides, I don't know how to play the piano."

 

"I can teach you." The purple haired girl grinned and took out her hand. Kyouya looked at her hopeful expression, her beautiful eye smile and sighed. He accepted the offer.

 

"You've practiced with Tamaki after club hours." He took a seat beside her. Both of them were next to each other in front of the black and white keys.

 

"Yeah. He's such a great pianist. I'm still way behind his level." Aphe spoke as she looked at the Ootori boy. "You'll play as the left hand, mine would be the right."

 

"Alright. So I should just play a chord?"

 

"Yes. I'll improvise as we go along. Try the middle C, E and G." Aphe gently took his hand and placed three fingers on the keys accordingly.

 

Kyouya noticed her fingers were smooth and long. A pianist's fingers, just like Tamaki's. He smiled softly at the epiphany.

 

"Ok." He nodded. "Don't blame me if the song sucks."

 

"It won't. Let's do this!" Aphe cheered as she played her own arrangement. Kyouya looked at her, a bit taken aback by the swift movement of her fingers. He tried to pick up slowly, before noticing the chords only have to be played either successively or all at once. Soon they were playing music together that evening, at the Ootori mansion, with Kyouya's three bodyguards applauding their young master and the special guest.

 

Somehow Kyouya wanted to paint again; a colourful painting to express the whimsical melody they were going at on the same day. Kyouya paints once in a while yet he never told any of his friends nor colleagues about it. He doesn't pat himself on the back for it too. It was only another method of release, his father wouldn't applaud him for it anyway. But that day he was ready to confess to her that he has a special hobby.

 

"Can I show you something, Aphe?" Kyouya spoke a minute after they finished.

 

"Sure! What is it?" Aphrodite replied with an eye smile.

 

The Ootori boy felt the urge to give a peck on her cheeks but he refused to give in. His bodyguards and maids shall notice, even if they don't mind. Kyouya was never a PDA person, not even in his own household. Fuyumi doesn't know they were dating either. She's just another friend to her.

 

"There's a small room I use over there to paint once in a while. Tamaki doesn't know about this. In fact, only my family knows." Kyouya confessed, smirking. "Would you like to take a look?"

 

Aphe was definitely amazed by the confession. Her mouth hung open slightly. She loves paintings, her favourite would be Van Gogh due to his eccentricities.

 

"I would be delighted to see them!" She beckoned.

 

Kyouya got up from the sofa and led her to the specific room. The younger girl followed him from behind, her hands neatly tucked in the pocket of her jeans.

 

On second thought, the guards won't be watching the two of us in the room. Kyouya mused, before shaking his head.

 

"What's wrong?" Aphe stared at the boy.

 

"It's nothing." Kyouya unlocked the door to the small room and led her inside.

 

There were large and medium sized oil and watercolour paintings stacked on a chair. Most of them were abstract paintings. Occasionally there's the still life ones unfinished at a corner. None of them had a face, except for a rough sketch located on a desk. Kyouya immediately tucked that particular sketch away inside a book.

 

Aphrodite's expression remained in awe at his art. She was very pleased to discover the artistic side of him. Her magenta eyes shone as she examined each one of the artwork.

 

"I love it. Magnificent work." She smiled and turned her head to face Kyouya, who was sorting a pile of art books to be kept in the shelves. He couldn't keep his cool and smiled back.

 

"It's merely satisfactory. I'm still learning how to do portraits."

 

"No." Aphrodite crossed her arms and pouted. "It is not satisfactory. It's magnificent. Avant-garde."

 

"Right." Kyouya chuckled. He continued,

 

"I apologize for the mess though. I hardly have time to sort stuff out. I don't let any of the maids enter this room for fear they might mismanage things."

 

"I understand." Aphe nodded. She noticed there were blank canvases lodged at the corner of the room. "Can you teach me how to paint?"

 

"Sure. But you'll have to drop by more often. Once in two weeks won't do." Kyouya suggested in a whim.

 

"Then I'll have a perfect excuse to come around a lot without the guards and your family's suspicion. To paint."

 

"We'll exchange. I shall have you as my piano teacher. And please don't inform Tamaki or else."

 

"Deal!" The Greek girl clapped and smiled.

 

Kyouya took a glance at the door, it was shut previously by Aphe. He then moved closer to the girl and embraced her. Her hair had a faint scent of lavender, her magenta pupils were slightly widened, as the girl was taken aback by his hug. He nuzzled against her neck and stayed silent.

 

"Does this make you feel better?" Aphe returned the hug, slightly tip toeing so that his forehead met hers.

 

The Ootori boy nodded before he whispered, "But I'll have to let you go after a while, Ayaka."

 

"I'll hug you for as long as you want, dearest. Let me know when you're done, okay?"

 

Her voice calmed the turbulence inside his mind. For once Kyouya doesn't have to think how painting might interfere with his revision and learning business/finance on his own. Ootori Yoshio does not acknowledge Kyouya's efforts that are not related to the Ootori group. Including the host club. At least the girlfriend would love every side of him, regardless.

 

Aphrodite learned how he has too much tasks, despite being the youngest son. His responsibilities are overwhelming for someone who's only 17, but it is what it is, she thought. She remembered the conversation she had with Tamaki about supporting him through thick and thin. This is one of her own gestures.

 

In truth, the goddess type did not think of romance, nor did they use any endearing terms for one another. As long as Kyouya has someone to turn to, things are good to go. She ran her fingers against his silky black hair and thought, he can be a child sometimes too.

 

Kyouya was starting to feel too comfortable in her arms, he had thought of kissing her as he caressed her back, her torso and her curves. He stared at the nape of her neck with half closed eyes, internally fighting the urge to initiate something more suggestive. He finally let her go and turned away.

 

"We should get back to studying." He sighed. "No distractions this time."

 

"Understood."

 

* * *

 

 

The next day, Kyouya thought of the pile of host club work he has yet to finish after studying. It was 9pm. He was never a procrastinator but since there is a study week given before finals and the host club is closed for a while, he decided to take a rest. The hormonal teenager inside him texted Kaoru.

 

"What are you up to? Don't tell me you're watching porn."

 

"Oops, caught red handed." Kaoru immediately replied. 

 

"I know you too well." Kyouya rolled his eyes.

 

"You know way too much, senpai. Every inch of me was explored by you. I'm no longer a chaste virgin." Kaoru snickered.

 

"You were never chaste. Anyway, I'm here to entertain more of your.... suggestions."

 

"So you were saying you did watch the links I gave you and denied it? Kyouya-senpai is such a liar. But happy to know you love them. I have more...."

 

"I didn't deny it. I said I'm not interested at the moment." Kyouya snapped.

 

"Enough with your reasoning and manipulation, senpai. Here's another link...." Kaoru giggled as he sent more.

 

They ended up texting about it and alternating between videos for an hour before Kyouya realized it's time to stop procrastinating and do his work. Kaoru pouted and agreed to stop.

 

The Ootori boy realized a sudden insecurity came over him, as he remembered the conversation in class after the trip and he felt his hands were starting to tremble in anger. He couldn't tell any of the members about the relationship as that was the agreement. He couldn't consult Tamaki. But Kyouya wanted his fair share of benefits in a relationship as he has always been very calculative. His anger and jealousy somehow decided one day he would be in bed with her. No other men could do that.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
